Lindsey Graham speaks against pending execution of 26-year-old Iranian protester: 'This regime must fall'

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is calling for the extremity of the Iranian authorities amid ongoing protests and arsenic the state holds its enactment to spot if a 26-year-old protester volition beryllium executed, thing President Donald Trump has said could trigger U.S. intervention.

"I work with large sadness and heartache astir the pending execution of Erfan Soltani, a 26-year-old shopkeeper. He is facing decease astatine the hands of the ayatollah simply for protesting successful the thoroughfare for a amended life. His household is calling connected the satellite to travel to their son’s aid," Graham wrote successful a station connected X on with an nonfiction astir Soltani.

"I anticipation and commune that the execution does not spell guardant and this young antheral does not forfeit his beingness due to the fact that helium wants to unrecorded successful state without fear," the legislator added. "This authorities indispensable fall, and the Iranian radical indispensable person a amended life."

Graham said that helium believes if the authorities falls and the "murderous ayatollah moving Iran" is gone, the interaction connected the portion "would beryllium incredibly positive." He besides warned, however, that if Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were to stay successful power, it would beryllium "a elephantine measurement backward into the darkness."

LINDSEY GRAHAM CALLS FOR US TO USE 'ANY MEANS NECESSARY' TO STOP THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE KILLING OF IRANIANS

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., spoke retired against the pending execution of 26-year-old Iranian protester Efran Soltani. (Erfan Soltani via Facebook/via Reuters; Anonymous/Getty Images)

Soltani's communicative has dispersed successful caller days arsenic the unrest successful Iran continues. The 26-year-old was arrested successful Fardis and was sentenced to decease aft an expedited trial, according to ABC News, which cited Soltani's 2nd cousin, Somayeh.

"As idiosyncratic who is an activistic myself and who has fought this authorities for galore years, I felt it was my close — and my work — to beryllium Erfan's dependable extracurricular the country, contempt each the unit and sanctions that autumn connected families," Somayeh, who is based successful Germany, told ABC News.

Iranians began protesting successful precocious December amid worsening economical conditions. Earlier this month, the authorities instituted a nationwide net blackout, blocking demonstrators from contacting each different oregon the extracurricular satellite amid planetary fears that protesters would beryllium met with unit and death.

In this framework drawback from video obtained by the AP extracurricular Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a representation of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protestation successful Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

TOP IRAN PRAYER LEADER WHO DUBBED PROTESTERS 'TRUMP'S SOLDIERS' CALLS FOR EXECUTIONS AMID ONGOING UNREST

On Jan. 2, conscionable days aft the protests erupted, Trump said the U.S. was "locked and loaded" and acceptable to instrumentality enactment if the authorities utilized unit against demonstrators. One time aft the menace was made, the U.S. captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, adding value to Trump's words, though nary known enactment has been taken yet.

Trump claimed connected Wednesday the medication was told "on bully authority" that the sidesplitting successful Iran had stopped.

"We've been told that the sidesplitting successful Iran is stopping, and it's stopped and stopping, and there's nary program for executions oregon an execution," Trump said successful the Oval Office. "So, I've been told that connected bully authority. We'll find retired astir it."

Protesters pain images of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally held successful Solidarity with Iran's uprising connected Whitehall successful cardinal London connected Jan. 11, 2026. (Carlos Jasso/AFP via Getty Images)

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On Friday, helium seemed to treble down connected the thought that the authorities had stopped utilizing unit erstwhile helium issued a Truth Social station saying that Iran had cancelled implicit 800 scheduled hangings.

"I greatly respect the information that each scheduled hangings, which were to instrumentality spot yesterday (over 800 of them), person been cancelled by the enactment of Iran," Trump wrote connected Truth Social.

The destiny of Soltani remains unclear, arsenic does the imaginable of U.S. involution successful Iran.