Unreleased documentary footage shows that the late US senator Lindsey Graham spent years privately pressing US President Donald Trump and foreign leaders to overthrow Iran’s regime, at times advocating military action that went beyond what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was prepared to support, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
One of the exchanges captured in the footage occurred on March 4, when Graham was planning to travel to Florida to persuade Trump to bring the US into Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon while the Iran war was underway.
Netanyahu urged Graham not to expand the campaign too quickly, warning that a full-scale offensive would leave Hezbollah with no reason to exercise restraint against Israel. Graham accepted the prime minister’s argument, responding, “That’s actually good counsel.”
The conversation was recorded by filmmaker Alex Holder, who had followed Graham since 2023 and had been granted extensive access to the South Carolina Republican’s meetings, travel, and telephone conversations.
Holder is reviewing hundreds of hours of footage for a documentary currently titled Lindsey’s Game, which he intends to release in the coming months. Graham had agreed to participate because he wanted the film to document his Senate career and encourage others to enter public service.
Graham pushed for US intervention against Iran
The footage portrays Graham as a central advocate of US intervention against Iran. He had publicly pushed for American military action before the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28.
Shortly after the strikes began, Graham celebrated while speaking to the documentary crew.
“Look what we’ve done here. I almost cried,” he said, according to the footage. He also told the filmmakers that Trump was enthusiastic about the operation and viewed it as one of the most important decisions of his presidency.
The crew regularly traveled with Graham and recorded him as he spoke with military commanders, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (MbS), and other senior figures. The filmmakers also accompanied him to meetings with Israeli officials and the Mossad as preparations for the Iran conflict were underway.
Several people who spoke with Graham by telephone told WSJ that they had not known their conversations were being recorded.
Graham traveled to meet the MbS as part of his efforts to gain support for the campaign against Iran. During his March conversation with Netanyahu, Graham argued that the collapse of the Iranian regime could create an opportunity for Israel and Saudi Arabia to establish diplomatic relations.
He told Netanyahu that he believed he could secure both Republican and Democratic support for normalization. Netanyahu encouraged him to concentrate first on Iran.
In the weeks before his death, Graham was reportedly seeking an Israel-Saudi normalization agreement before the next US Congress was sworn in.
The recordings also show Graham discussing Middle East diplomacy with Jake Sullivan, who served as national security adviser under then-president Joe Biden.
Graham told Sullivan that he did not believe Trump’s envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff could manage the negotiations because of what he considered conflicts of interest. He argued that Secretary of State Marco Rubio should take the lead.
A White House official rejected the criticism, describing Kushner and Witkoff as successful negotiators and noting that they had maintained close personal relationships with Graham.
Graham also predicted in March that the Iran war could produce significant political instability inside the country within three to four weeks. The Wall Street Journal noted that the forecast proved inaccurate as the fighting continued.
The senator later expressed frustration that members of the Trump administration and other Republicans were not doing enough to publicly defend the war.
His frustration increasingly extended to Trump. During what became his final filmed interview, conducted at a bagel shop in Columbia, South Carolina, Graham criticized the president for signing a preliminary agreement with Iran in June.
“He’s letting this thing slip away,” Graham said, adding that he needed to speak to Trump directly.
The final weeks of Graham's life
Graham died earlier in July at age 71. He was widely regarded in Israel as one of the country’s strongest supporters in Washington and was also a prominent advocate for Iranian opposition groups.
The footage also documents Graham’s political transformation from a fierce Trump critic during the 2016 presidential campaign into one of the president’s most loyal congressional allies.
Holder said Graham remained unapologetic about that relationship and appeared to relish the access it gave him to Trump and other international leaders.
During the final weeks of Graham’s life, Holder said the senator frequently appeared exhausted. Graham nevertheless spoke of completing several major objectives, including ending Iran’s regime, helping negotiate an agreement between Russia and Ukraine, and establishing diplomatic ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia.