Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina is asking Donald Trump to take big action against Iran’s leaders. On January 11, 2026, Graham spoke on Fox News. He called the leaders of Iran a “modern day Hitler.” He told Trump, “You gotta end this.” This is happening while many people in Iran are protesting against their government. More than 500 people have died in these protests. Graham wants the U.S. to help remove the Iranian government from power.+5
The “Modern Day Hitler”: Graham’s Case for Regime Change
Senator Graham has always wanted a strong military plan for the Middle East. He says the leaders in Iran are as dangerous as the Nazis were in the past. He told Trump that he should “kill the leadership” because those leaders are killing their own people. Graham believes that if the Iranian leaders are gone, the world will be safer. He thinks it would stop groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, help Israel and Saudi Arabia become friends, and stop global terrorism.
Context of the Crisis: Deadly Nationwide Protests in Iran
Graham is saying this because Iran is in a big crisis. Since December 2025, people across Iran have been protesting. It started because the country is poor and money has lost its value. Now, the people are fighting against their rulers. The government is fighting back very hard. Human rights groups say over 538 people have been killed and 2,000 have been arrested. The government also turned off the internet so the world cannot see what is happening.+3
Political Implications for the 2026 Election Cycle
Because Graham is a close friend of Donald Trump, his words are very important for the 2026 elections. Now, other politicians have to decide if they agree with him. Some people in Washington do not agree. Senators like Rand Paul and Mark Warner worry that attacking Iran’s leaders could make things worse. They fear it might make the Iranian people angry at the U.S. or start a much bigger war in the Middle East.
ALSO Read: Rand Paul says Trump’s threat to bomb Iran ‘is not the answer’: Not the ‘job of the American government’
Trump’s “Maximum Pressure” and the Future of Tehran
The Trump administration is already trying to hurt Iran’s economy with sanctions. Recently, the U.S. stopped a ship that was helping Iran sell oil secretly. Trump posted on social media that the U.S. is ready to protect the protesters. Graham wants Trump to go even further by targeting the leaders directly. This shows that the U.S. might be moving from just watching Iran to trying to change its government completely.+3
Conclusion
Senator Graham’s call to “kill the leadership” is a very extreme and serious statement. The world is watching the human rights problems in Iran, but leaders in the U.S. do not agree on how to help. We do not know yet if the U.S. will use military force or try to talk things out. This is the biggest question for the relationship between the U.S. and Iran in 2026.
Disclaimer
The news information presented here is based on available reports and reliable sources. Readers should cross-check updates from official news outlets.