Republican Senator Lindsey Graham , one of the US Congress's most influential foreign policy voices and among Israel's staunchest supporters in Washington , has died aged 71 of an alleged heart attack, ending a political career that spanned more than three decades and left a lasting imprint on US policy in the Middle East.
Graham's office confirmed on Sunday morning that he died on Saturday night "from a brief and sudden illness."
US President Donald Trump announced Graham's death on his Truth Social platform, calling the South Carolina Republican "one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known".
"He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed," Trump wrote.
Graham served four terms in the House of Representatives before entering the Senate in 2003, where he became one of the Republican Party's leading voices on national security and foreign affairs.
Although he was a fierce critic of Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, he later emerged as one of the president's closest allies, helping align Trump's "America First" rhetoric with a foreign policy that remained deeply interventionist in the Middle East, particularly in relation to Israel and Iran.
No foreign leader appeared more affected by Graham's death than Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who described him as one of Israel's closest allies in Washington.
"Lindsey is a great friend of Israel and a cherished friend of mine. We have no better friend than Lindsey," Netanyahu wrote on X.
"Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend."
Tributes also poured in from across Israel's governing coalition, particularly among its far-right ministers.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel had "lost one of its greatest friends in Washington", praising Graham's "unwavering support" and "profound commitment to Israel's security", which he said had contributed to "many important achievements during the war".
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir likewise said Israel had "lost one of its greatest friends", crediting Graham's "unwavering support, courage, and moral clarity" and "steadfast commitment to Israel's security".
Support for Israel
The breadth of the tributes reflected Graham's unique standing in Israeli politics. For more than two decades, he was among the country's most dependable allies in Congress, consistently opposing attempts to condition US military aid, backing the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, and supporting sanctions against the International Criminal Court after it sought arrest warrants for Israeli leaders over the Gaza war.
His support for Israel reached its most uncompromising expression during the war in Gaza. Defending continued US weapons supplies in a May 2024 television interview, Graham invoked the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War.
"So when we were faced with destruction as a nation after Pearl Harbor... we decided to end the war by bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki with nuclear weapons. That was the right decision," he said.
"Give Israel the bombs they need to end the war they can't afford to lose."
"To Israel, do whatever you have to do to survive as a Jewish state," he concluded.
Graham also spent years advocating a far more confrontational US policy towards Iran. He opposed the 2015 nuclear agreement, repeatedly argued that military action should remain on the table, and urged Israel to take whatever steps it deemed necessary to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Following US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities earlier this year, Graham praised Trump's decision as "brilliant" and "bold", saying it would "live in history". He also argued that "the only thing the Iranian regime will respect is strength".
His interventionist worldview long predated Trump.
Graham was an enthusiastic supporter of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, arguing that President George W. Bush had "used the only reasonable option available" in removing Saddam Hussein over alleged weapons of mass destruction that were never found.
As Iraq descended into years of violence, he remained one of the war's most steadfast defenders, backing the troop surge and opposing calls for a timetable for withdrawing US forces.
Alongside the late Senator John McCain, Graham became one of the Republican Party's foremost advocates of an assertive American role overseas.
Although Trump campaigned against America's "forever wars", Graham's close relationship with the president illustrated how interventionist policies remained central to Washington's Middle East strategy, particularly where Israel and Iran were concerned.