The Media Line: Netanyahu, Zelenskyy, Pahlavi Join Washington Tribute to Lindsey Graham  

Netanyahu, Zelenskyy, Pahlavi Join Washington Tribute to Lindsey Graham  

By The Media Line Staff  

Funeral services for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham began Tuesday in Washington, with President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and several foreign leaders honoring the longtime South Carolina Republican, whose support for Israel, Ukraine and the Iranian opposition shaped many of his international relationships.  

Politicians gathered in the Capitol Rotunda for a ceremony that was closed to the public but livestreamed. Vance remembered Graham as a lawmaker who sought to build relationships across political divides.  

“I remember Lindsey Graham as a man who loved people, and because he loved people, he was willing to reason with them, to respect them, and ultimately to persuade them,” Vance said.  

Among those attending the ceremonies were Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi. Additional funeral events are scheduled for Wednesday in Graham’s home state of South Carolina.  

Trump’s eulogy reflected on Graham’s decades in public office, his work on foreign policy and his love of golf, while recalling their friendship despite earlier political disagreements. The president praised Graham’s “magnetic personality” and “vim and vigor” and described him as “extremely hawkish.”  

“He never saw a war that he didn’t like,” Trump said. “Only his true friends would understand that, but he wanted it for the good of our country.”  

Before attending the funeral, President Trump met separately with Netanyahu and Zelenskyy at the White House. President Trump and Netanyahu discussed the war with Iran, negotiations regarding Lebanon and efforts to expand the Abraham Accords. At a memorial dinner, Netanyahu said, “America has lost a great patriot. Israel has lost one of its greatest friends and supporters. And I have lost a dear friend.”  

Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump focused on anti-ballistic missile defense, diplomacy, the peace process regarding the war with Russia, Patriot missile licenses and strategic cooperation with the United States. Graham had been one of Ukraine’s strongest advocates in Washington, supporting military assistance and tougher sanctions.  

Also attending was Pahlavi, who recently wrote in The Washington Post that Graham would be mourned “perhaps nowhere more intensely than by the Iranian people.” He said many Iranians affectionately called the senator “Amoo Lindsey,” or “Uncle Lindsey,” describing him as “an ally, a friend who never forgot them” and “a steadfast defender of liberty and scourge of dictatorships.”