Final Pleas for War Expansion: Lindsey Graham’s Last Days Before Death

Late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., spent his final months privately urging President Donald Trump and foreign leaders to escalate hostilities against Iran. Unreleased documentary footage reveals that on March 4—days after the U.S. and Israel launched their campaign against Iran—Graham attempted to secure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approval for a plan to strike Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Netanyahu, speaking by phone, countered with caution: “We’re concentrating right now on Iran.” He warned that if the U.S. signaled intent to attack Hezbollah, it would threaten them, but actual action could lead to retaliation from Hezbollah. Graham abandoned the proposal, stating: “That’s actually good counsel.”

The footage also captures Graham expressing near-ecstatic relief upon the opening strikes. “Look what we’ve done here,” he told the filmmaker, later relaying Trump’s reaction: “He’s jacked—he said, ‘Best thing I have ever done.’”

Graham compared Trump and Netanyahu to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill during a March call with former Biden national security adviser Jake Sullivan. In that same conversation, Graham predicted Iranian forces would lose control of cities within three to four weeks—a forecast the conflict has since surpassed.

The documentary, filmed over more than 400 hours by British filmmaker Alex Holder as part of his project “Lindsey’s Game,” shows Graham traveling internationally to build support for the Iran campaign. The footage includes meetings with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and sessions with Israeli officials and the Mossad.

Graham criticized Trump’s Middle East envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, as being “too conflicted” to manage Iranian diplomacy, urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take charge. In his final interview—weeks before his death at age 71—the senator voiced frustration after Trump signed a preliminary agreement with Iran in June: “He’s letting this thing slip away,” Graham said.

Graham died on July 11 from an aortic dissection following a trip to Ukraine. Holder has completed hundreds of hours of footage and plans to release the film soon.