Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) insisted that the death toll in Iran is “mounting by the hour,” despite President Donald Trump’s claim that Tehran had halted executions.
Trump seemed to downplay the current level of violence surrounding the protests on Wednesday and Thursday, pointing to claims that Tehran had halted its scheduled execution of protesters. Graham signaled a different understanding in a message Wednesday night, saying the violence hadn’t abated.
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“Every indication that I’ve seen says that the Iranian regime’s killing of protestors is still very much in full swing. The death toll is mounting by the hour. Hoping that help is on the way,” he said in a post on X.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Trump said he had been notified “pretty strongly” that the “killing in Iran would be stopping.”
“There’s no plan for executions … an execution or executions, so I’ve been told that on good authority. We’ll find out about that. I’m sure if that happens, we’ll be very upset, and you’ll be upset,” he told reporters.
Trump was specifically speaking in the context of being asked about executions, rather than the killing of protesters more generally. The Washington Examiner reached out to the White House for clarification on his claim and further comment.
Graham also disputed reports early on Thursday morning that Trump had gotten cold feet on striking Iran, or that he had assured Tehran he wouldn’t strike.
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“All the headlines like these are examples of reporting that are beyond inaccurate. The circumstances around the necessary, decisive action to be taken against the evil Iranian regime have nothing to do with President Trump’s will or determination,” the senator wrote in a post on X. “Nothing could be further from the truth. Quite the opposite. Stay tuned.”
Analysts were sent into a flurry on Wednesday night amid reports of military movements, and even local sources posted unidentified fighter jets flying over Iraq. The sun rose on Thursday without any major strikes against Iran, however, with speculation in a fever pitch around what Trump would do next.
Trump may be holding off strikes due to limited options. As of Thursday, no aircraft carrier strike groups were in range, and Arab countries were openly skittish about allowing the U.S. to use their airspace to strike Iran over fear of retaliation and the possible destabilizing impact of the Islamic regime’s fall. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Egypt, and Turkey have all urged restraint. Arab officials told the Financial Times on Thursday that they believed tensions had de-escalated after Wednesday night.
“Things have de-escalated for now,” one Arab official told the outlet. “The US is giving time for talks with Iran and to see where they go from here.”
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Other indications show that Trump may still go through with strikes against Iran in response to its brutal crackdown on protesters. The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group was spotted moving from the Pacific toward the Middle East, which will take about a week. Others noted that Trump is known to use misleading rhetoric in the lead-up to strikes, such as his public statements ahead of Operation Midnight Hammer in June.
Iran’s shutdown of the internet for over a week has made it impossible to fully gauge the scale of the violence, but estimates currently hold the number of protesters killed in the crackdown at anywhere from 500 to 12,000.
