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Broadcasters and state-aligned platforms in Tehran openly celebrated the sudden passing of senior US Senator Lindsey Graham on Sunday, while American President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined the international community in mourning the influential foreign policy lawmaker.
According to a report by Tasnim, an Iranian news agency affiliated with the regime, the death of the veteran Republican was marked with hostile headlines, stating, "Graham dies, taking the destruction of Iran to the grave." The confrontational tone was echoed across domestic networks, where a state television host remarked that "this news is so sweet that I'm reading it twice," while declaring that the "war-mongering anti-Iran senator has gone straight to hell." Online networks linked to the regime similarly engaged in the celebration. Regime supporters on social media shared a graphic showing several figures allegedly marked for revenge over the February attack on Iran, with Graham's face crossed out with a red X -- the only one "eliminated." The distributed visual carried the warning words: "We will continue to update." In sharp contrast to the reaction from official state apparatuses in Tehran, Iran's exiled crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, extended deep condolences, remembering the lawmaker as a "steadfast friend of the Iranian people" and a resolute defender of freedom. The late legislator had maintained a firm stance against the current clerical establishment, having previously told a gathering of Iranian opposition supporters in Munich in February: "I choose the Iranian people over the murderous ayatollah. It is time for him to go." Pahlavi observed that this active advocacy for the domestic opposition and the country's Lion and Sun Revolution had affectionately earned him the title "Uncle Lindsey" among Iranians. Tributes also poured in from top global leaders who valued the lawmaker's long-standing geopolitical alliances. President Donald Trump paid high homage, describing Graham as "one of the greatest people and senators I have ever known" and remembering him as a "hard-working patriot." Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed profound grief over the loss of a pivotal strategic ally, stating, "Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend." The 71-year-old South Carolina representative passed away unexpectedly on Saturday evening after what his office described as a "brief and sudden illness." According to US media reports, emergency services had previously responded to an urgent call regarding a suspected cardiac arrest at his Capitol Hill residence. (ANI)
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