According to a video from 7:17 on CBN News, on Tuesday May 11, 2026, United States Senator Lindsey Graham has reportedly reframed the debate over ground forces in Iran by pointing to the millions of Iranian citizens who actively oppose their own government, arguing that the question of boots on the ground misses a far more important reality about the strength of domestic opposition inside the country.
CBN News Middle East bureau chief Chris Mitchell, speaking from Jerusalem, relayed Senator Graham’s remarks while addressing questions about the possibility of US or Israeli ground forces being deployed in Iran.
Mitchell used Graham’s framing to highlight what he described as a potentially decisive factor in the outcome of the standoff — the large and motivated population of Iranians who want the regime removed and who have already demonstrated their willingness to take to the streets at great personal risk.
Mitchell explained that the conventional concern about boots on the ground, meaning foreign soldiers entering Iranian territory, overlooks the scale of internal opposition that already exists within Iran. Iranians took to the streets in December and January in significant numbers to protest against the regime, only to be met with deadly force.
Tens of thousands, Mitchell said, were killed by the regime during those protests because the demonstrators were unarmed and had no means to defend themselves.
In his words, Chris Mitchell said, “Senator Lindsey Graham has been saying that there are millions of boots on the ground, because many people are asking, are there going to be US boots on the ground, Israeli boots on the ground? And what he means by that is that there are millions of Iranians who are opposed to the regime. They were the ones that went out there on the streets in December and January and opposed the regime,” he said.
Mitchell suggested that this internal opposition, if properly supported and equipped, could become a decisive force in determining the future of the Iranian government, potentially removing the need for direct foreign military intervention while still achieving the goal of ending the regime’s grip on power….Read_More…