How Did Senator Graham's Remarks About 'Iranians' Spark Controversy?

It seems that a statement made by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on Fox News has cost him dearly. Although the program's host tried to smooth things over at the time, the discussion about a DNA test turned serious when Senator Graham said: 'If the result of my test shows that my roots trace back to Iran, it would be terrible.' Given that there are over a million Iranians or Iranian-Americans living in the U.S., the host quickly added, 'a great nation, but with bad leaders,' and Mr. Graham echoed, 'bad leaders.' However, the issue continued on social media, bringing in several prominent Iranian-Americans and many others who demanded an apology from the South Carolina senator. Omid Kordestani, Twitter's executive chairman, addressed Senator Graham in a tweet, stating, 'You must be very lucky. Please try to uphold the best values of our great nation and its principles from now on and never imitate the words of these divisive and simplistic people. You need to apologize.' However, the response from Firouz Naderi, a former NASA director, was harsher than Kordestani's. He tweeted: 'Many grateful Iranian-Americans have contributed to the United States more than you, an ignorant and racist person.' Hadi Partovi, a technology investor and entrepreneur, also responded to Mr. Graham on Twitter: 'Why is being Iranian 'terrible'? Some of the greatest merchants, scientists, athletes, and leaders in America are of Iranian descent. By calling us terrible people, you insult everything that has made America a great country.' Finally, Christiane Amanpour, a renowned journalist and CNN host of Iranian descent, wrote to Mr. Graham: 'You can think whatever you want about the [Iranian] government, but you don’t need to portray a dark image of all people. In fact, just look around to see Iranian-Americans who are leading essential fields in American life and economy from Silicon Valley to Wall Street, from science and surgery to engineering architecture, from art and culture to, yes, even media.' She added: 'Iran, with 2500 years of civilization, had a king named Cyrus who freed the Jews from the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Babylonian Empire. Ben Gurion [one of the founders of Israel] praised Cyrus's tolerance. It was Cyrus who granted the first charter of human rights to the world, the Cyrus Cylinder.' Ms. Amanpour then attached a link to the Wikipedia page of the Cyrus Cylinder to her Facebook post to familiarize Senator Graham with it. The wave of protest on social media was, in fact, part of a larger outcry from Iranian social media users. One Iranian-American user wrote: 'Lindsey Graham, you would love to be Iranian!' Another user commented: 'It is true that if #Graham has Iranian roots and ancestry, it is a shame and disgrace for the country and the people of Iran.' A user named Shayan Diba said: 'America is a land formed from the most complete and sublime thoughts of humanity... and the thoughts of Iranians have always been at the forefront of the human-centered system in America. Therefore, I ask Senator #Graham to apologize to this great nation as soon as possible.' But what has been Mr. Graham's response to these criticisms and protests? In an explanation of his remarks, he called Iranians a 'brave and cultured nation' and emphasized that his words were just a joke; otherwise, he himself is one of the great defenders of the Iranian people in their fight against the Islamic Republic regime. He added: 'I say this to my liberal friends who were offended by my words. At least I didn’t vote in favor of an agreement that gave $150 billion to someone who kills Iranians in the streets.' Senator Graham's reference is to the nuclear deal between world powers and Iran during Barack Obama's presidency, which lifted sanctions. However, the next U.S. administration set this agreement aside.