The visuals of new billboards in Tehran’s Asam Square add to Iran’s overt threat campaign. The billboard bears the name of recently deceased U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham and appears to contain an assassination threat against U.S. President Donald Trump.The billboard, controlled by the Owj Arts and Media Organization, which is linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, appears to be a reference to Trump with its unusual capitalization of the letters “D” and “T” in its English slogan “Who is D next one?”The state-run Islamic News Agency said the billboard was installed after Graham’s death, describing him as one of the most anti-Iranian politicians in the United States.Conservatives in Iran described Graham’s death as divine punishment for what they believed was his insistence on waging war against the country.
Threats escalate amid calls for revenge
Lindsey Graham died on July 11 after what his office described as a brief and sudden illness. He has become a key supporter of Iran’s opposition movement, calling for a “free Iran” at rallies in Munich and waving the flag of the country’s former Islamic republic.At the funeral of former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, mourners held placards showing Trump, Graham, conservative commentator Ben Shapiro and activist Laura Loomer with red crosshairs on their faces and warning: “Sooner or later, your heads will turn.” Mourners also displayed a $100 million bounty on Trump and chanted slogans to kill him.A previous billboard in Tehran featured Trump’s image alongside the slogan “We will kill Trump” in Farsi and English. Trump warned that if Iran tried to assassinate him, the United States would respond “harsh and devastating”.
