Plus: Lindsey Graham’s foreign policy legacy ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Richard Hall | July 13, 2026

Hey there, and welcome to The Brief. I’m glad to be back at the desk after a week away, which just happened to coincide with England’s stunning (and ongoing) World Cup run. We have more coverage of the competition as we head into the tense final stages, as well as a look at how the late Lindsey Graham shaped U.S. foreign policy, and a story about how seriously we should take Iran’s threats against Trump.

Five Must-Reads

How Serious Are Iran’s Threats Against Trump?
Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Saturday swore to avenge his father, who was killed in the U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Feb. 28. But how credible is the threat? —TIME

Mitch McConnell Breaks Silence With Statement and Photo Amid Questions About Health
The former GOP leader explained his absence from the Senate, saying he intends to finish his term, but some critics still have questions. —TIME

The World Cup’s Strangest Rituals Reveal How Belonging Really Works
Unusual fan rituals like Norway’s “Viking Row” show us how to actually create a sense of belonging. With communities across the country facing a “loneliness epidemic,” this lesson could not have come at a better time. —TIME

Erling Haaland’s World Cup Ends In a Shocking Place
Norwegian striker Erling Haaland took over our algorithms this World Cup, emerging as a certified phenomenon in America, and with the form to back it up. So the last thing anyone expected was him finishing his tournament slinking on the bench, with his team down by just a single goal. —TIME

How Marco Rubio Is Running Venezuela From Afar
Since the capture of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro earlier this year, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has become a viceroy-like figure in the country—communicating regularly with its new president, effectively controlling its finances and the distribution of its national resources. —New York Times

IN FOCUS

Lindsey Graham weathered an isolationist storm in his Party

One of the final images of Lindsey Graham shows him touring an underground drone factory in Kyiv. It was taken on Friday, during his 10th visit to Ukraine, where he also met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to shore up U.S. support for the country.

It was a fitting way for Graham to spend his last hours. Throughout his career, the longtime South Carolina senator shaped U.S. foreign policy in a way few other politicians of his era have. To the end, he remained a fierce advocate for the use of American military might worldwide. Even as the Republican Party grew more skeptical of U.S. interventions abroad, he continued to push for military action in Iran, in South America, and in support of Israel.

Graham was an early opponent of Donald Trump. In 2016, he said of the then-presidential candidate: “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed…and we will deserve it.” He appeared to draw a line under their relationship after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, declaring: "Count me out. Enough is enough." He was also on the opposite side of many of Trump’s key foreign policy planks—he was pro-NATO, pro-Ukraine, and wanted the U.S. to remain engaged in the Middle East. Despite all that, he later became one of the President’s most loyal allies.

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, shakes hands with U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 10, 2026. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS

Graham retained his influence on Trump’s foreign policy by leveraging his unwavering support for his domestic agenda to stay in his inner circle. He weathered an isolationist storm within his party, one that helped Trump to power, to see some of his longest-held foreign policy goals put into action.

Trump promised an end to “endless wars” that Republicans like Graham had supported, and a reassessment of America’s role in the world. But at the time of his death, the U.S. had intervened to remove Venezuela’s President, was threatening military action in Cuba, had recommitted to supporting Ukraine, and was fighting a war with Iran that Graham had spent more than a decade advocating for. That the war in Iran has failed to yield the “new Middle East” Graham predicted, along with many other war aims, has not significantly slowed this shift.

The percentage of Republicans who want the U.S. to take a “less active role” in world affairs dropped from 53% in February 2024, to 43% in March 2025, to 34% in September, and down to just 26% in a poll conducted in January this year.

Had he died a few years ago, Graham’s obituary might have cast him as one of the last neocons. Today, however, he leaves behind a party and a presidency whose view of the world is closer to his own than the one Trump promised.

ONE NUMBER

300

U.S. forces struck more than 300 targets in Iran last week in response to Tehran’s targeting of commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Pentagon said on July 11 that it targeted “Iranian missile and drone sites, naval capabilities, ammunition storage facilities, communication networks, and coastal surveillance locations.” It announced another round of strikes on July 12.

Iran also launched attacks at Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman.

The renewal of hostilities between Iran and the U.S. has raised further questions about the strength of an interim deal struck one month ago to bring an end to the war.

SOURCE: U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND

A VIRAL MOMENT

A Congressman detained

Rep. Ro Khanna of California said he was detained by Israeli settlers armed with U.S.-made weapons during a visit to the West Bank on Wednesday.

Khanna, a Democrat who is reportedly mulling a run for the presidency in 2028, claims to have been surrounded by settlers and then subsequently detained by the Israeli army near the Palestinian village of Khirbet Zanuta, which has come under frequent settler attacks in recent weeks.

“Free advice to the Israelis: It’s not a good idea to detain long-shot presidential candidates,” he said.