Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina shared a bold idea with President Donald Trump. He thinks the U.S. should kill Iran’s top leader, Ali Khamenei. Graham made these comments during an interview on Fox News with Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures.
Graham called Khamenei the “modern-day Hitler” and a “religious Nazi.” He believes the Iranian people would be happy to see him gone. The senator told Trump directly that he should “kill the leadership that are killing the people” and said “you gotta end this.” “If I were you, Mr. President, I would kill the leadership that are killing the people,” he said, according to Mediaite. “You gotta end this.”
“Whatever action we’re going to take, Mr. President, needs to embolden the protesters and scare the hell out of the regime,” he continued. Graham thinks removing Khamenei would help protesters in Iran who are standing up against their government. During the interview, he showed a black “Make Iran Great Again” hat to the camera. Trump had signed one of these MIGA hats for Graham just last week.
Removing Iran’s leader could reshape the entire region
Graham believes that if Khamenei is killed, it would bring peace to the Middle East. He said it could even lead to a peace deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The senator also thinks it would stop “state-sponsored terrorism” from groups like Hamas.
Before the interview ended, Graham called Trump the “Ronald Reagan-plus of our time.” He pushed the president to “end” the Iranian regime. Trump has been making aggressive moves lately, including how he weaponized the Pentagon against critics. The show’s music started playing, and Bartiromo had to quickly thank him before the segment wrapped up.
— Terror Alarm (@Terror_Alarm) January 7, 2026
Senator Lindsey Graham to Iran’s Khamenei: ‘Trump is gonna kill you’. pic.twitter.com/LLqKdADBFq
Graham’s comments came one day after the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump is considering different options for dealing with Iran. One possibility is a large military strike on several Iranian military locations.
Last week, Trump told reporters that Iran’s government was in “big trouble.” He said the U.S. would “get involved” if Iranian leaders hurt protesters in their country. Trump warned, “We’ll be hitting them very hard where it hurts.” This tough talk mirrors his recent blame-shifting on crime issues.
Videos of Iranian protesters filling the streets have been spreading on social media platforms like X. If Trump orders another military strike, it would happen about six months after he bombed several important Iranian nuclear facilities.
