Lindsey Graham ‘almost cried’ tears of joy over war on Iran, footage shows

What the report says

Al Jazeera reported that newly released excerpts from a planned documentary show late US Senator Lindsey Graham saying he helped persuade President Donald Trump to join Israel’s war against Iran. The footage, supplied by British filmmaker Alex Holder’s team to The Wall Street Journal, comes from more than 400 hours recorded while shadowing the Republican senator over three years. Graham died on July 11 at age 71, and Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were expected at his funeral on Tuesday, according to the report.

The excerpts described by Al Jazeera show Graham reacting after Trump spoke publicly on March 3 about US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. The report says those strikes killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and began the war. Graham appeared pleased and claimed that he had overcome resistance within Trump’s circle. He also praised Trump as a wartime leader and compared the Trump-Netanyahu partnership to the Roosevelt-Churchill alliance during World War II.

Another clip reportedly captures Graham speaking by phone with Netanyahu on March 4, after Hezbollah resumed rocket attacks on Israel in support of Iran. Graham told Netanyahu he would try to press Trump to join Israel in strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. Netanyahu, while receptive to Graham’s support, said Israel was focused on Iran and suggested action against Hezbollah could come later.

Al Jazeera also cited The Wall Street Journal as saying some footage reflected Graham’s frustration with Trump. In a June interview in Columbia, South Carolina, Graham reportedly worried that a preliminary ceasefire agreement with Iran was weakening the campaign and said he needed to speak with Trump.