When I woke up Saturday morning, the first Instagram story I saw was about the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). I thought, that’s fake news. This can’t be true, until my wife walked in and said, “Have you heard … ?” I couldn’t believe it. The man was fine, touring Ukraine war zones and talking against Russia, and he is dead a day after? Call it a conspiracy, I thought at the time, but there must be more to it.
Graham had a special place in the hearts of many Iranian diasporas. Iranians called him “Uncle Lindsey,” and he loved it. He was one of the first high-ranking officials in the U.S. government to stand behind the people of Iran and support their efforts for freedom and regime change. He joined Iranian rallies, called for getting rid of “a murderous regime,” and held the Iranian Lion and the Sun flag in front of 250,000 people.
