Lindsey Graham's 4 high-stakes remarks that made headlines: ‘500% India tariffs', Pak’s mediator role problematic, more

US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump and a prominent figure in US foreign policy, died at the age of 71 following what his office called a “brief and sudden illness”.

Representing South Carolina in the Senate for over 20 years, Graham was one of the Republican Party's strongest backers of Ukraine in its war against Russia and a vocal proponent of imposing tougher sanctions on Moscow. He was a vocal critic of India's purchases of Russian oil and sparked headlines with his remarks four times around high-sensitive global situations.

A look at Lindsey Graham's comments that made headlines

In February this year, Graham asserted that India had cut its purchases of Russian oil “dramatically” while voicing support for the tariffs imposed by Trump on India. He called the development a “good example” of how such policy measures could influence the behaviour of other nations.

The previous month, Graham praised Trump for “greenlighting” the Graham-Blumenthal sanctions bill, which he had helped introduce. The legislation reportedly proposed giving the US president the authority to impose tariffs of up to 500% on countries, including India, that continue buying Russian oil.

The Republican senator stated the bill would "allow" Trump to "punish countries who buy cheap Russian oil fueling Putin's war machine".

2. Graham commended Trump for standing with “the people over the ayatollah” in an appearance on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures. He also described Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as "the modern-day Hitler", a "religious Nazi" and a "horrible person."

He mentioned, “It’s time for him to go. The people want him to go."

Addressing Trump directly, he added, “If I were you, Mr. President, I would kill the leadership that are killing the people. You’ve got to end this.”

During the interview, Graham also said that ousting Iran's supreme leader would pave the way for peace in the region.

3. Graham stirred row with comments about Greenland in February this year, saying ownership of the Danish territory was less important than achieving US strategic objectives.

When Politico asked how he would respond to European allies concerned about the controversy, Graham dismissed their worries and suggested they were overreacting.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany, Graham reiterated that the focus should be on securing desired outcomes rather than on who formally controls Greenland.

4. Graham drew attention in May this year after questioning Pakistan's credibility as a mediator in the US-Iran conflict and calling on Islamabad to formally recognise Israel. His remarks were seen as controversial because Trump had publicly endorsed Pakistan's mediation efforts and later moved to reaffirm US support for the country.

“It has been apparent to me for quite a while that Pakistan as a mediator is more than problematic. Their animosity towards Israel is long standing. It is undeniable that Iranian military aircraft are being housed on Pakistani air bases and past rhetoric from the highest Pakistani officials against Israel is disturbing,” he wrote on X.

Graham's comments came in response to a media report alleging that Pakistan had provided safe haven to Iranian military aircraft that may have been shielded from US airstrikes. Pakistan rejected the allegation.