Sen. Lindsey Graham says it is not the job of the U.S. to determine Iran’s next leader

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said during an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that it is not the United States’ job to choose Iran’s next leader and that the United States should not put troops on the ground after Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a series of predawn strikes by U.S. and Israeli forces.

Asked by moderator Kristen Welker whether the United States has a plan to ensure that Iran’s future is determined by Iranians and that Iran does not become a major state sponsor of terrorism, Graham argued that it is not up to Americans.

“It’s not his job or mine to do that,” Graham said. “How many times do I have to tell you? Our job is to ensure that Iran is no longer the largest state sponsor of terrorism, to help the people rebuild a new government. No troops on the ground.”

Graham argued that it was in the United States’ interest to ensure Khamenei’s death. President Donald Trump announced Saturday that Khamenei had been killed in an attack, and he said Saturday in an interview with NBC News that “most” of the people who make decisions for Iran “are gone.”

“It is in America’s interest to ensure that Iran can no longer be the largest state sponsor of terrorism,” Graham said. “We’re close. Once people decide what they want to do next, I don’t mind helping them, but I know what they won’t be allowed to do next: regenerate the largest state sponsor of terrorism.”

Democrats were divided on whether the United States would be safer after Khamenei’s death.

Rep. Ro Khanna, Democrat of California, said on “Meet the Press” that he disagreed with Graham, arguing that the senator “was wrong all along.”

“Let me say this: Khamenei was a brutal dictator, but Americans are no safer today,” Khanna said.

Sen. Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona, said in a separate interview on “Meet the Press” that he agreed with Graham’s assessment that the world was safer with Khamenei dead. At the same time, Kelly criticized Trump’s message in Truth Social, referring to his hopes that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and police would “peacefully merge with Iranian patriots.”

“Hope is not a strategy,” Kelly said. “We have to have a plan here. I mean, what is the strategic objective and how can we achieve it?”

Asked if the United States could continue the operation without troops on the ground, Kelly responded that “it’s an incredibly difficult challenge.” Kelly argued during the interview that Iran cannot be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, but criticized Trump for withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal during his first term.

Graham asserted during his interview that “there will be no American boots on the ground.”

“This is not Iraq. This is not Germany. This is not Japan,” he said. “We will liberate the people from a terrorist regime.”

Graham has been a staunch defender of the administration’s decision to strike Iran. In an article published on Saturday, Graham called the move “one of the most significant military operations in modern history.” In another article, he claimed that Trump had “become the benchmark for foreign policy accomplishments as a Republican president.”

In the aftermath of the strikes, several Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called for a war powers vote to require the administration to seek permission from Congress before engaging in future military action.

Asked if he would vote for a war powers resolution, Kelly said he “would have to look at it closely.”

“I want to hear from the White House what their strategy is going forward,” Kelly said. “I would say at this point it’s pretty unlikely that I would be.”

Khanna said on “Meet the Press” that he believes every Democrat will ultimately support a vote on war powers. He admitted that the bill would likely not pass, but argued that the vote would be “close” and that “we have a few days to work on it.”

“We are at war with Iran,” he said. “We killed their leader. We have over 100 of our warplanes bombing them. The purpose of this resolution is to say, ‘we don’t want another war in the Middle East,’ or at least Congress should speak on that, should vote on that.”

Across the aisle, Graham condemned European leaders who called for diplomacy after the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, calling them “pathetically weak” in an interview with Fox News on Saturday.

“To our European friends, you have lost your way,” he said on Saturday. “You have lost your sense of who you are and what makes you different. You are pathetically weak.”

In the same interview, he said calls for negotiations were an “offensive to the Iranian people.”

Graham previously shared similar criticisms of