Media personality Tucker Carlson skewered Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) over his knowledge of Iran and U.S. involvement in Israel’s military operations against Iran.
Cruz caught Carlson’s attention after he said, “We are carrying out military strikes today,” suggesting the United States is also directly involved in the attacks against Iran. Carlson responded, “You said Israel was,” before Cruz clarified that Israel is, but with American help, later insisting, “We’re not bombing them. Israel is bombing them.”
“You just said ‘we’ were,” Carlson countered, finishing the clip by saying, “If you’re saying the United States government is at war with Iran right now, people are listening!”
.@SenTedCruz says, “We are carrying out military strikes” against Iran before clarifying that the U.S. is “supporting” Israel
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— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) June 18, 2025
President Donald Trump said earlier Tuesday that “we now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran.” It was unclear whether Trump was saying the U.S. was collaborating with Israel in bombing Iran or supporting them in some form. The statement added fuel to the speculation that the U.S. would have a greater involvement in the conflict soon.
In a second Truth Social post, Trump threatened Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying, “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding.”
Trump continued, “He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
A third post simply said in all caps, “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER.”
Carlson also blasted Cruz on his general knowledge of Iran, asking him the population of the country. When Cruz said he did not know, Carlson said, “You don’t know the population of the country you seek to topple?”
He then asked for Iran’s ethnic makeup, which caused Cruz to pause before saying, “They are Persians and predominantly Shia.” He dismissed Carlson’s quizzing as “cute.”
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Iran and Israel have exchanged blows in intensifying fighting since the latter launched a successful surprise strike on Iranian military leaders, nuclear scientists, and nuclear sites. The U.S. has helped defend Israel from Iranian missiles but has denied any offensive involvement.
The U.S. has pressed Iran not to target any of its citizens or troops, along with any of its bases in the region. Trump has said U.S. “patience is wearing thin” with Iran after it quashed any hope of nuclear talks during the conflict.