Protesters hold up placards and flags as they demonstrate outside the Iranian Embassy in London, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Amid the war of words and the threat to US intervention in Iran to support the ongoing anti-government protests, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has sent a stern warning to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic.
‘We don’t talk as much as we used to’
Quoting a news report about Khamenei’s message to pro-government demonstrators on Monday, Graham reminded the 86-year-old religious figure that the US doesn’t talk as much as it used to.
“To the ayatollah: we don’t talk as much as we used to. Have I offended you?” Graham said.
Protesters participate in a demonstration in Berlin, Germany, in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
On Monday, Khamenei warned American politicians to “end their deceit” and stop supporting what he called treacherous mercenaries. He also warned of a crushing response if the US intervenes in the ongoing protests.
‘Beware of the drones’
On Khamenei’s threat to US politicians, Graham said, “I hear Moscow is a winter wonderland. Beware of the drones.”
To the ayatollah: we don’t talk as much as we used to. Have I offended you?
As to your recent warning to American politicians, I hear Moscow is a winter wonderland.
The Moscow reference appears to be a dig at a recent report that the Iranian authorities had a detailed contingency plan for Khamenei to be flown to Russia if ongoing nationwide protests escalate beyond the government’s control.
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Moscow is also currently hosting Bashar al-Assad, the former Syrian dictator, a close ally of Iran, after he was ousted in December 2024.
Later, while speaking to Fox News, Graham said the Iranian government weakens when people believe change is possible.
“The ayatollah’s brutal rule survives when the world hesitates. It weakens when people believe change is possible. That belief matters. And President Trump has made clear where the United States stands. Make Iran Great Again,” he said.
UN calls for end of violence
Meanwhile, the United Nations human rights chief is calling on Iranian authorities to immediately halt violence and repression against peaceful protesters, citing reports of hundreds killed and thousands arrested in a wave of demonstrations in recent weeks.
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This frame grab from videos taken between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11, 2026, and circulating on social media purportedly shows images from a morgue with dozens of bodies and mourners after crackdown on the outskirts of Iran’s capital, in Kahrizak, Tehran Province. (UGC via AP)
“The killing of peaceful demonstrators must stop, and the labelling of protesters as ‘terrorists’ to justify violence against them is unacceptable,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in a statement on Tuesday.
Alluding to a wave of protests in Iran in 2022, Türk said demonstrators have sought “fundamental changes” to governance in the country, “and once again, the authorities’ reaction is to inflict brutal force to repress legitimate demands for change.”
“This cycle of horrific violence cannot continue,” he added.
It was also “extremely worrying” to hear some public statements from judicial officials mentioning the prospect of the use of the death penalty against protesters through expedited judicial proceedings, Türk said.
“Iranians have the right to demonstrate peacefully. Their grievances need to be heard and addressed, and not instrumentalized by anyone,” Türk said.
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Protesters hold up placards and flags as they demonstrate outside the Iranian Embassy in London, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) 
