'Would you like that?': Lindsey Graham offers Netanyahu a chance to dictate US policy in Lebanon

The United States' misadventure in Iran has opened a can of worms, with many questioning the extent of Israeli influence over American military policy. Those doubts got a fillip on Sunday, when unreleased footage revealed a conversation between late South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Graham tells Netanyahu he plans to meet Trump at Doral that weekend to push him to join Israel in Lebanon, asking simply, "Would you like that?"

Netanyahu, who has an outstanding ICC warrant for war crimes, including starvation as a method of warfare and directing attacks against civilians, urged caution. "We're concentrating on Iran," he said, warning that threatening Hezbollah with an all-out response only to hold back would leave the group "no reason not to go all the way against us." Getting the US involved in Lebanon now, he said, was "not in our interest."

Graham can be seen fawning over Netanyahu, calling him a good friend and accepting his counsel. "I'll put it out there as an idea. We can always go back to it," he said. Graham, who died at 71 earlier this month from an aortic dissection, was a known foreign policy hawk, advocating for military intervention, robust defense spending, and a prominent US role abroad. In the same footage, Graham celebrated President Donald Trump's announcement of the military strikes on Iran in February this year.

In clips shared by the Wall Street Journal, Graham can be heard telling the documentary crew, "I almost cried," while recounting a call with Trump on the morning of the strikes. He described the president as "jacked" about the operation, saying Trump called it the best thing he'd ever done and that he "loves blowing stuff up"—adding that he'd faced pushback from others in the administration who opposed the strikes.

Graham went further, praising Trump as a "great wartime president" and likening him and Netanyahu to Roosevelt and Churchill, calling them "the right two guys to confront this evil."

The footage was shot by filmmaker Alex Holder, who has followed Graham since 2023 with extensive access to his meetings, travel, and calls, for a documentary titled "Lindsey's Game."

Holder is now reviewing hundreds of hours of material and expects to release the film in the coming months. Graham reportedly agreed to take part to document his Senate career and encourage others toward public service. Beyond the Netanyahu call, the footage also captured Graham on the phone with former national security adviser Jake Sullivan, cheering on the war effort.