An Iranian newspaper carried a front-page illustration showing US President down on one knee, holding a photograph of US Senator , alongside US secretary of war Pete Hegseth, Israeli Prime Minister and several senior US and Israeli officials, beneath the headline ‘Get Ready for Sudden Death’, after Senator Graham died late on Saturday.
Media outlets and state-backed platforms in Tehran openly welcomed Graham’s death. A clip aired by went viral across social media as the presenter congratulated Iranians over “the war-mongering, anti-Iranian, US senator” being “sent to hell”. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the clip.
Iranian newspaper’s warning for Trump
Hamshahri, a state-run national daily, published the illustration showing Trump appearing to cry while holding Graham’s picture. Netanyahu, Hegseth and others were shown looking suurpised. The headline read ‘Get Ready for Sudden Death’.
This headline appeared to signal a warning to US and Israeli leaders after Graham died on Saturday following what his office described as a “brief and sudden illness”. A preliminary medical examiner’s finding, shared by his office, said he died after suffering a tear in his aorta.
Notably, the South Carolina senator had consistently supported military aid for Ukraine in its war with Russia. He was also a strong supporter of Israel during the Gaza conflict and repeatedly called for Iran’s current leadership to be removed from power.
Following the February 28 US-Israeli attacks on Iran, Graham publicly urged that the Iranian government should be overthrown. He even went further to call for the death of Iran’s then Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The publication’s “warning” came after the same newspaper on Saturday released an it claimed should be targeted in retaliation for the killing of Ali Khamenei.
It included Trump, Netanyahu, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, Hegseth and several other leaders.
What Iran said on Graham’s death
Iran on Monday called Graham “malicious”, describing the senator, who was known for his hardline position on Tehran and support for the war, in those terms a day after his sudden death.
“Our people will not mourn a man whose philosophy on life was aggression and intimidation,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told reporters on Monday.
“His entire being was malicious,” he added, after several state television presenters welcomed Graham’s death during programmes broadcast on Sunday.
Graham, a former Air Force lawyer and longtime member of Congress, had turned 71 just two days before his death on Saturday night.
With inputs from agencies
