Verdict with Ted Cruz - Iran’s Threats should NOT be Towards Americans, Air Superiority over Tehran & Tucker doesn't buy Iranian Assassination Plan Week In Review

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:02.580 Guaranteed human.

00:00:05.240 Welcome.

00:00:06.000 It is Verdict with Ted Cruz.

00:00:07.620 Week in Review.

00:00:08.480 Ben Ferguson with you.

00:00:09.500 And here are the big stories that you may have missed that we talked about this week.

00:00:13.180 First up, Donald Trump making it very clear to Iran, do not attack Americans or our interests

00:00:20.020 in the Middle East.

00:00:21.080 And if you do, there will be hell to pay.

00:00:23.800 Also, Israel gains air superiority over the entire state of Iran. 0.54

00:00:28.480 And now the people of Iran may realize the regime is not as strong as they thought.

00:00:33.780 And finally, Tucker Carlson doesn't believe Iran wants to assassinate or plan to assassinate

00:00:40.000 Donald Trump.

00:00:41.180 It's the Week in Review, and it starts right now.

00:00:44.580 That note that he put out there was very clear because he's saying, hey, A, we weren't involved

00:00:49.880 in this, and we're going to state that clearly.

00:00:52.740 This was Israel doing their thing. 0.98

00:00:54.520 But if you think for a moment that you can use this to justify attacking Americans anywhere

00:00:59.900 in the world, there will be hell to pay if you do that.

00:01:03.940 Yeah, look, I think if Iran carries out a significant strike on American servicemen and

00:01:09.500 women, then I think America, if they think the bombs coming from Israel are bad, I think

00:01:15.180 they will face massive retaliation.

00:01:18.160 And then that's called deterrence.

00:01:19.240 We want them not to strike our servicemen and women.

00:01:22.360 And and by the way, that's the difference between Joe Biden, who was so weak, he couldn't

00:01:27.260 deter anything.

00:01:28.460 It helps that our enemies are afraid of the commander in chief.

00:01:33.020 That that's where actually in the debates about foreign policy, those who argue for isolationism

00:01:39.100 get it wrong, because if you're so terrified to engage with your enemies that then you end

00:01:46.480 up causing more war.

00:01:48.700 I think Reagan was right.

00:01:49.780 I think Trump is right, that when you're strong, when you tell your enemies, if you attack and

00:01:54.220 kill Americans, your military leaders are going to die. 0.98

00:01:58.000 What happens is most of the time they say, you know what, we're just not going to attack 0.98

00:02:01.480 and you end up avoiding war because because they're scared of the commander in chief.

00:02:07.220 So where does this go from here?

00:02:09.340 And this is where everybody's saying, hey, look, we want an off ramp, right?

00:02:13.840 Like, that's something we do want.

00:02:15.660 We want this.

00:02:16.780 We want to protect lives.

00:02:18.240 But at the same time, Israel is, I think, making it very clear.

00:02:21.560 We have no choice but to do this.

00:02:23.400 And we're doing the world a huge service by doing it.

00:02:28.620 Yeah.

00:02:28.780 So the Israeli government is talking on a time frame that this could last another week or

00:02:33.840 two.

00:02:34.140 They're engaged in massive bombings.

00:02:37.280 And at some point, you know, at some point, the question is, how much ordinance do they

00:02:42.360 have?

00:02:42.760 How much capacity do they have to keep bombing?

00:02:44.640 And how many targets do they have?

00:02:47.160 You know, I will say also, one of the most significant sites is Fordow.

00:02:53.860 Now, Fordow is a nuclear bunker that is built into the side of a mountain, and it's built

00:03:02.180 deliberately to make it very difficult to strike, to carry out an airstrike.

00:03:06.300 And it's where much of their nuclear research is being conducted.

00:03:10.900 Now, there were reports on Sunday that Israel carried out a strike at Fordow, but at least

00:03:16.400 based on publicly reported material, Israel does not have sufficiently effective bunker buster

00:03:23.140 bombs to be able to take out the deep underground laboratories at Fordow.

00:03:28.800 And so one of the open questions is, is to the best of my knowledge, the only military that

00:03:34.380 has those bombs is the United States.

00:03:36.060 We have really big bunker busters that are made to take out deep, deep underground facilities

00:03:42.460 like the Fordow nuclear facilities.

00:03:44.280 And so one open question, I have for a long time called for the United States to make those

00:03:50.120 bunker busters available to Israel.

00:03:53.080 I think taking out Fordow makes a lot of sense.

00:03:56.400 I think if Israel does it, and by the way, I'll point out, look, Israel is a small country.

00:04:02.000 Israel is about the size of the state of New Jersey.

00:04:05.220 And they are fighting against our enemies, our enemies who have pledged they want to murder

00:04:10.520 us, and they're doing so at great risk to themselves.

00:04:13.440 But but and so that is something to be grateful for.

00:04:16.980 But understand, they're taking out Iran's nuclear capabilities is very, very good for America 0.99

00:04:23.060 because it makes America safer.

00:04:24.920 And I think if Israel finishes the job of taking out their nuclear capability, I think this these 0.95

00:04:32.520 attacks likely end within the next couple of weeks.

00:04:36.620 You look at Donald Trump saying we can probably get a deal done.

00:04:41.440 Is that after we accomplish the mission?

00:04:44.200 If you're reading between the lines here, you've spoken with them.

00:04:46.840 Is this a that we got to allow our ally Israel to do what they need to do in that time frame 0.59

00:04:52.000 as well?

00:04:52.960 So listen, I'm skeptical that Iran will ever, ever cut a real deal. 0.98

00:04:58.040 I don't think you could negotiate with crazy. 0.99

00:05:00.900 And I think these people are crazy. 0.65

00:05:02.060 And so I think one of the things that would enhance American security massively is to see 0.85

00:05:10.940 the Ayatollah fall and to see the mullahs lose power, to see different leadership come

00:05:17.600 to come to Iran.

00:05:18.440 I think that would make Israel much safer.

00:05:21.060 I think that would make America much safer.

00:05:23.140 And I think that would make the Iranian people better off.

00:05:25.580 Now, let me be clear.

00:05:26.780 I'm not advocating that we send in a bunch of American soldiers to make that happen.

00:05:30.760 I am advocating that we use maximum pressure and economic sanctions to pressure the regime

00:05:36.760 in a way that that might encourage this regime to fall, because I think that they have demonstrated

00:05:42.900 that they are are homicidal and murderously directing their urges towards killing Americans.

00:05:51.220 And so removing people from power who are trying to kill Americans makes America safer.

00:05:56.180 Let me also go back to something you mentioned earlier, and this seems to clearly be part

00:06:00.760 of Israel's strategy, which is you go after and take out people that are, in essence, holding

00:06:07.560 down the people and silencing the people in Iran in the leadership roles.

00:06:12.180 That's part of who they seem to be going after.

00:06:14.520 That could be huge for allowing what you just described to actually happen, a revolution within

00:06:20.240 Israel, or I should say within Iran.

00:06:22.180 Well, and listen, one of the conscious choices, it appears, that Israel made was not to target

00:06:29.020 the Ayatollah himself.

00:06:30.940 And I don't have, I have no classified information on this.

00:06:33.540 Why is that, by the way?

00:06:33.980 Yeah.

00:06:34.500 Why is that, out of curiosity?

00:06:36.460 So I don't know for sure.

00:06:37.940 I have no classified information on this, but I can give an educated guess, which is that

00:06:43.160 taking out the leader of a country through military forces is a significant step.

00:06:49.620 Now, mind you, the Ayatollah is perfectly fine hiring hitmen to try to murder Donald Trump. 0.99

00:06:55.020 So the Ayatollah has no problem doing it. 0.79

00:06:56.920 And I have no doubt that if the Ayatollah could murder Prime Minister Netanyahu, he would 0.97

00:07:02.380 do so in the blink of an eye.

00:07:04.720 He has not been able to do so.

00:07:07.020 But I think the Israelis, given their success in taking out everyone else, I think it's reasonable 1.00

00:07:12.320 to assume that they would have had a real prospect of taking the Ayatollah out had they 0.84

00:07:17.020 chosen to do so.

00:07:18.040 My guess is that they made a decision that taking out the leader of the country could

00:07:22.500 backfire, especially given that he is also a religious leader and you run into a danger 0.98

00:07:28.520 of potentially making him a martyr.

00:07:31.380 And it is not clear if you toppled him in those circumstances, you might get a younger 0.93

00:07:37.540 theocratic lunatic take over instead. 0.73

00:07:40.120 And so I think it is a reasonable decision for Israel to say, rather than target the Ayatollah 0.95

00:07:46.920 directly, let's take out every one of their top military officers that they would use to

00:07:52.640 prosecute a war.

00:07:53.720 And by the way, those are the same people they use to push down an uprising to oppress

00:07:59.080 their people.

00:07:59.640 And so degrading their capabilities, it's what they've done with Hezbollah. 0.97

00:08:05.160 They've taken out their top leadership.

00:08:07.100 It's what they've done.

00:08:08.200 It's what they've done with Hamas. 0.77

00:08:10.000 And I'll tell you, on Saturday, Israel conducted a strike in Yemen, killing the Houthi chief

00:08:17.200 of staff, Mohammed Abdul Karim al-Gamari, who was responsible for overseeing Houthi military

00:08:25.740 operations and directing the procurement and deployment of a number of weapon systems for

00:08:31.280 them.

00:08:31.540 The Houthis are another arm of Iran. 0.53

00:08:34.040 And so what Israel has done is weakened Iran on every front.

00:08:38.600 And that oppressive infrastructure, their ability to wage war, their ability to kill Israelis, 0.95

00:08:44.560 their ability to kill Americans, their ability to fund terrorism, and their ability to suppress 0.86

00:08:50.060 their people, all of those are substantially weakened.

00:08:53.900 That's a very good thing.

00:08:55.160 Final question for you on this.

00:08:56.980 As we move forward through this week, I think it's pretty obvious the media is obsessed with

00:09:02.680 Donald Trump somehow not standing with Israel or trying to drive a wedge.

00:09:08.380 Do you think there's any chance at all that can happen? 1.00

00:09:10.780 Because in the early questions, it was almost like, you guys are idiots. 1.00

00:09:14.820 Come on. 1.00

00:09:15.760 I think President Trump has been the strongest pro-Israel president in the history of America.

00:09:20.600 It's an exact contrast with Joe Biden.

00:09:22.980 Joe Biden was the most anti-Israel president in the history of America.

00:09:28.040 The fact that they occurred back and back.

00:09:30.040 You want to talk about whiplash.

00:09:32.320 You'll recall we did this podcast when Bibi came to Washington, and I met with him for about

00:09:38.460 two hours.

00:09:39.160 He is a good friend.

00:09:40.720 I have not spoken to Bibi since this war broke out, although I did speak with the Israeli ambassador

00:09:46.040 to the United States on Thursday night, the night the war began.

00:09:49.920 And listen, their successes are significant, but they have the complete backing of the Trump

00:09:59.460 administration, and that is important.

00:10:02.100 I do think there are some voices within the administration that are pressing back.

00:10:07.860 And part of the reason I talked to President Trump today was to say, what you're doing

00:10:13.560 is exactly right.

00:10:14.700 You're making America safer by allowing Israel to take out Iran's nukes, and you're also 0.90

00:10:20.380 protecting American servicemen and women.

00:10:22.960 Keep doing it.

00:10:23.980 And he agreed emphatically.

00:10:26.520 Now, if you want to hear the rest of this conversation, you can go back and listen to the full

00:10:30.760 podcast from earlier this week.

00:10:32.640 Canadian women are looking for more, more out of themselves, their businesses, their 1.00

00:10:37.620 elected leaders, and the world around them.

00:10:39.680 And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast.

00:10:43.400 I'm Jennifer Stewart.

00:10:44.580 And I'm Catherine Clark.

00:10:45.800 And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspiring women.

00:10:49.580 Entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians, and newsmakers, all at different stages of their

00:10:54.680 journey.

00:10:55.300 So if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us.

00:10:58.280 Listen to the Honest Talk podcast on iHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

00:11:02.640 Now on to story number two.

00:11:06.520 Well, let's also talk about what's happened with the air superiority or the lack of security

00:11:13.340 that Iran actually had over their own country.

00:11:16.740 Yes.

00:11:17.060 And that could also spell trouble for the leadership in Iran, because now the people may realize,

00:11:22.900 wow, we may have been played by these horrible leaders.

00:11:27.520 And there is total air superiority now by Israel or anybody that wants to go after Iran. 0.78

00:11:33.980 So Israel and potentially America have complete air superiority over Iran. 0.83

00:11:39.460 And Israel has taken out Iran's air defenses.

00:11:42.440 So they're not able to stop Israeli jets in the air.

00:11:46.120 And the bombers are bombing the hell out of, as of two days ago, there had been over 720

00:11:53.180 military strikes in Iran.

00:11:55.500 The number's substantially higher now.

00:11:57.460 I don't have the current number, but it was 722 days ago.

00:12:01.320 And Iran is not able to do anything about it, because their air defenses have been destroyed.

00:12:06.080 And so they're just sitting ducks.

00:12:07.920 They're just, and I will tell you the dynamic.

00:12:10.480 So there's a delicate question.

00:12:12.720 Israel has been able to, and it actually has succeeded in taking out a massive amount 0.99

00:12:19.120 of the military leadership of Iran.

00:12:21.340 They have also succeeded in pounding the hell out of Iran's nuclear facilities, like the 1.00

00:12:27.780 Natanz facility, which is where they do much of the nuclear enrichment. 0.75

00:12:33.340 Israel has bombed the living crap out of.

00:12:35.980 The one exception that Israel is not able to take out is the Fordow nuclear research facility. 0.96

00:12:44.120 Now, Fordow is built literally in the base of a mountain, and it was built into a mountain

00:12:49.940 particularly to withstand a bombing attack.

00:12:56.120 And Israel does not have the military hardware to take out Fordow.

00:12:59.940 Their bombs are not big enough.

00:13:01.940 America does.

00:13:02.660 We have bunker buster bombs that are 30,000 pounds, that are massive bombs that can take

00:13:09.860 out an underground, under-mountain nuclear facility like Fordow.

00:13:15.040 Israel also does not have bombers that are big enough to carry a 30,000-pound bomb. 0.57

00:13:21.040 That's a big-ass bomb.

00:13:23.000 And so the B-2 bomber, which America has, is big enough to carry that bomb. 0.79

00:13:27.300 Israel doesn't have bombers that big.

00:13:28.940 And so one of the open questions, Israel has asked America, will you fly in the B-2 bombers

00:13:35.820 and drop your bunker busters on Fordow and take it out?

00:13:40.640 As you and I sit here at 12, what is it, 12.43 a.m. on Tuesday night, Wednesday morning,

00:13:49.460 I do not know if President Trump's going to do that.

00:13:53.300 This is being actively debated.

00:13:55.200 It could, by the time this podcast comes out, it is possible that America will drop those bunker busters. 0.98

00:14:02.160 I think that is a real possibility in the next few hours, in the next few days.

00:14:07.600 And in my view...

00:14:09.620 With that being said, then I've got to ask this question so that people understand.

00:14:12.980 Ben, I said this earlier tonight on Chris Cuomo's show, and I said on Pierce Morgan's show, and I said on Fox, the same thing.

00:14:19.200 I am not in favor of putting...

00:14:20.820 Boy, Ben, you're going on a lot of lefty shows.

00:14:23.040 Pierce Morgan...

00:14:23.720 I know, I'm fighting the commies every day, my friend.

00:14:26.440 You know, is like, does Bernie Sanders have a show, AOC?

00:14:30.900 Like, are you going on with Xi of China?

00:14:33.940 I'm trying to go on with Tucker next, you know, and just see if I can explain to him what my foreign policy is.

00:14:40.180 But it's...

00:14:40.860 I'm not in favor of putting troops on the ground.

00:14:43.740 Donald Trump's not in favor of putting troops on the ground.

00:14:45.940 Neither are you.

00:14:46.440 Absolutely.

00:14:46.800 No, no, no.

00:14:48.020 No troops on the ground.

00:14:49.460 So what we're advocating for is simply this.

00:14:52.160 If America gets involved, it would be to do exactly what you just said.

00:14:56.660 It would be to do what Israel can't do to take out a nuclear program... 0.73

00:15:00.620 To drop a couple of bombs.

00:15:01.300 ...which is a threat.

00:15:02.060 Yes, which is a threat to us.

00:15:02.640 To drop a couple of bombs that Israel can't. 0.83

00:15:06.520 Like, their bombs are not big enough to take out Fordow.

00:15:09.140 And I will say this.

00:15:11.180 From a perspective, my overwhelming touchstone is what protects American national security interests.

00:15:19.140 What keeps Americans safer.

00:15:20.800 It's America first. 0.94

00:15:22.000 It's President Trump's foreign policy.

00:15:23.800 That is my foreign policy.

00:15:24.960 And I will say, when he and I talked on Sunday, his comment, when I was telling him,

00:15:30.160 you're doing a great job, what you're doing is fantastic, his comment is, he said,

00:15:34.860 Ted, on foreign policy, you and I are twins.

00:15:37.940 And that's right.

00:15:39.120 I agree with him on foreign policy.

00:15:42.660 The reason there is, I think, a compelling argument for America to take out Fordow is

00:15:49.420 Fordow, they are doing research on nuclear weapons technology.

00:15:54.020 They're trying to develop nuclear bombs.

00:15:56.540 They're not doing it because the Ayatollah thinks climate change is a problem and he wants

00:16:01.580 to create civilian nuclear power generation.

00:16:04.200 It is entirely creating a bomb that could murder millions of Americans or millions of Israelis. 0.98

00:16:10.220 They put it in the basement of a mountain because they didn't want to be bombed.

00:16:13.560 Only America can take them out.

00:16:16.780 And I got to say, I think dropping those bombs, I have zero interest.

00:16:21.480 We will not send boots on the ground.

00:16:23.380 We are not going to invade Iran.

00:16:24.680 And I have zero interest in coming into the country and trying to turn it into a democratic

00:16:30.060 utopia.

00:16:30.760 We don't look.

00:16:31.780 It would be wonderful if Iran woke up tomorrow and it was Switzerland. 1.00

00:16:35.500 But I'm not willing to risk your children or my children to go in and fight a war to

00:16:42.100 make that happen.

00:16:43.100 It is a very different calculus to say, should we drop a couple of bombs and take out a lab 0.88

00:16:50.860 and facility where they're developing nuclear weapons to murder Americans?

00:16:54.980 And I think that's a compelling argument.

00:16:57.120 And I got to say, I think there's a real possibility in the next few hours or days, that's exactly

00:17:02.800 what's going to happen.

00:17:03.460 Final question on this.

00:17:04.980 If Donald Trump does, in fact, make this decision, I actually don't think this is a

00:17:08.920 tough decision or a hard decision.

00:17:10.520 I think it's a simple decision, as you described it, of we must protect the homeland and we must

00:17:15.240 protect our allies at the same time.

00:17:17.040 And we're both a target and we know what Iran would do if they got a nuclear weapon. 0.79

00:17:21.340 And we know that even if they didn't do it, they might give it to their proxies to do

00:17:24.900 it as well.

00:17:25.620 You add all that up.

00:17:26.940 I think this decision is actually pretty clear.

00:17:29.260 If the president does that and we move forward, there's also this big obsession in the media

00:17:34.320 and out there's a massive divide in the MAGA world.

00:17:36.840 And this is going to split the Republican Party.

00:17:38.680 I actually think it's going to be a blip and we're going to move back on to all the issues

00:17:42.420 that we do agree on.

00:17:43.480 I'm not taking the bait on that.

00:17:44.880 I want your take on it as well.

00:17:46.780 Yeah, look, so I did Sean Hannity this evening.

00:17:49.020 And Hannity had a poll that just came out that showed 75% of Americans agree with President

00:17:55.840 Trump that we should act against Iran to prevent them from getting a nuclear weapons using.

00:18:01.360 And the question in the poll was, whatever means necessary.

00:18:06.180 75%.

00:18:06.780 I don't know that 75% of Americans agree on butterflies or rainbows or peanut butter and

00:18:14.320 jelly.

00:18:14.540 Like, that's a big percentage in today's divided world.

00:18:19.860 And so it is frankly a handful of people who are disagreeing.

00:18:26.500 Tucker is really an outlier on this.

00:18:28.160 And I made the point, and we're going to talk about this.

00:18:31.160 Friday's pod is going to be all about this.

00:18:32.800 But Tucker used to be, 20 years ago, Tucker was a neocon interventionist who was a cheerleader

00:18:40.120 for the Iraq war, and he practically had on a short skirt and pom-poms.

00:18:45.540 I think the Iraq war was a catastrophic mistake. 0.99

00:18:49.040 And so I think he was far too interventionist.

00:18:51.920 And Tucker does too.

00:18:53.000 He thinks he was wrong.

00:18:54.180 And I respect that.

00:18:55.280 Look, look, intelligent people will assess changed circumstances and be willing to change

00:19:00.760 their position based on the facts.

00:19:02.740 And so I respect that he changed his views.

00:19:05.540 But the point I made is he went from being an interventionist far too eager to send in

00:19:12.000 the Marines to being an isolationist who says we should never, ever use the military, even 0.98

00:19:17.320 when we've got a lunatic, theocratic zealot who is trying to murder Americans and has murdered 0.98

00:19:22.500 hundreds of Americans. 0.94

00:19:23.840 And so I actually think that view is a really fringe view in America.

00:19:29.240 It's a fringe view in MAGA, and it's a fringe view across the country.

00:19:35.220 And I think the American people want a president who's going to say, we will protect ourselves

00:19:41.060 against people who want to kill us.

00:19:43.120 That's exactly what Donald Trump is doing.

00:19:45.280 As before, if you want to hear the rest of this conversation on this topic, you can go back

00:19:50.340 and download the podcast from earlier this week to hear the entire thing.

00:19:54.460 Canadian women are looking for more, more out of themselves, their businesses, their 1.00

00:19:58.860 elected leaders, and the world around them.

00:20:00.920 And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast.

00:20:04.640 I'm Jennifer Stewart.

00:20:05.820 And I'm Catherine Clark.

00:20:07.040 And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspiring women.

00:20:10.800 Entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians, and newsmakers, all at different stages of their

00:20:15.920 journey.

00:20:16.540 So if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us.

00:20:19.540 Listen to the Honest Talk podcast on iHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

00:20:23.840 I want to get back to the big story number three of the week you may have missed.

00:20:29.580 I want to get back into the Tucker Carlson interview that you did.

00:20:33.580 And Senator, there was some interesting themes that came out of this interview.

00:20:37.920 He was obviously attacking you.

00:20:40.140 He was attacking Israel. 0.84

00:20:42.040 He was attacking groups that support Israel.

00:20:44.500 But then there was an even weirder point where I think Tucker probably is hoping that we don't

00:20:50.100 play this or that people didn't watch the whole interview and hear this part.

00:20:54.240 It was about the Iranian regime.

00:20:56.180 They've been trying to murder Donald Trump. 0.97

00:20:58.100 They've hired hitmen. 0.98

00:20:59.180 They've been trying to hire hitmen.

00:21:00.660 They've come after former cabinet members of Donald Trump.

00:21:03.340 And when you brought it up, he acted like he'd never heard of this before and that you

00:21:07.640 were either lying or this is shocking news to him.

00:21:10.180 Yeah, this was utterly bizarre.

00:21:12.540 And I've got to say, in the whole course of the two-hour interview, this was the strangest

00:21:15.600 portion.

00:21:16.480 For the last two years, Iran has been actively trying to murder President Donald Trump. 0.81

00:21:21.640 Iran has hired hitmen to murder President Trump. 0.63

00:21:25.080 Iran also has been trying to murder Mike Pompeo, President Trump's former Secretary of State,

00:21:30.640 John Bolton, President Trump's former National Security Advisor, and Brian Hook, President

00:21:35.460 Trump's former Assistant Secretary of State.

00:21:37.460 All of them, Iran has hired hitmen and has been targeting them.

00:21:42.140 Bizarrely, and this has been widely reported, these are objective facts, but bizarrely, Tucker

00:21:47.880 Carlson insisted this has never happened.

00:21:51.140 Here, give a listen.

00:21:52.520 I just want to pull that thread because it's so important.

00:21:54.800 I voted for Donald Trump.

00:21:55.660 I campaigned for Donald Trump.

00:21:56.860 He's our president.

00:21:58.200 And we're on the cusp of a war.

00:21:59.440 So if Iran, if there's evidence that Iran paid hitmen to kill Donald Trump and is currently

00:22:03.760 doing that, where is that?

00:22:05.580 What are you even talking?

00:22:06.620 I've never heard that before.

00:22:07.940 OK.

00:22:08.560 Where is the evidence?

00:22:09.440 Who are these people?

00:22:10.180 Why haven't they been arrested?

00:22:11.200 Why are we not at war with Iran? 1.00

00:22:12.540 That's a great question to ask.

00:22:14.480 How do you know that that's true?

00:22:16.280 We know that it's true because we have been told that by the military and our intelligence

00:22:21.880 community for the last two years.

00:22:24.280 We meaning who?

00:22:25.560 Congress has in the public.

00:22:26.860 I mean, we've had multiple testimonies.

00:22:28.300 I can send you testimony.

00:22:30.140 Do we know the names of the people or where this happened or what they tried to do to kill

00:22:33.560 Trump?

00:22:34.620 We do not.

00:22:35.560 We have not apprehended an Iranian hitman trying to kill him.

00:22:38.980 We know that Iran is trying to do so. 0.52

00:22:41.420 In the United States?

00:22:43.160 Yes.

00:22:43.720 And by the way, like Iran.

00:22:45.300 This just seems like a huge headline.

00:22:47.080 And you're acting like everyone knows this.

00:22:48.340 I didn't know that.

00:22:49.400 Iran put out a whole video about murdering Trump.

00:22:53.220 Right.

00:22:53.720 But I've never heard evidence that there are hitmen in the United States.

00:22:57.540 I mean, trying to kill Trump right now, we should like have a nationwide dragnet on

00:23:02.180 this and we should attack Iran immediately, if that's true. 0.91

00:23:05.240 Don't you think?

00:23:06.320 No.

00:23:07.760 If they're trying to assassinate our president?

00:23:09.560 They have been for two years.

00:23:11.080 They are enemies.

00:23:11.900 Then why aren't we in war with them? 0.98

00:23:13.280 Well, we are trying to take out. 0.99

00:23:14.660 Why don't we just nuke Tehran if they're trying to murder our president? 1.00

00:23:17.440 There's nothing that you could do that would be worse for the United States than murdering 0.99

00:23:20.800 Trump. 0.56

00:23:21.760 And I just don't understand why you're not calling for the use of nuclear weapons against

00:23:25.080 the Ayatollah right now.

00:23:25.920 I'm serious.

00:23:26.500 If you really believe there's a use of nuclear weapons, whatever it takes.

00:23:30.100 That's part of the problem.

00:23:30.940 What do you mean?

00:23:31.740 You don't seem to take the allegations seriously.

00:23:33.580 I do.

00:23:34.100 If you believe they're trying to murder Trump, we need to stop what we're doing and punish

00:23:38.340 them. 0.87

00:23:39.260 I mean, insanely bizarre. 0.98

00:23:40.960 We went from let's not do anything to, oh, they're trying to kill Trump. 0.99

00:23:44.800 Well, if that's true, let's just nuke them. 0.98

00:23:47.580 So you're right.

00:23:48.560 The entire two hours, Tucker's position was do nothing on Iran.

00:23:52.080 Do nothing on Iran.

00:23:52.900 Do nothing on Iran.

00:23:54.040 Do not support Israel. 0.93

00:23:55.360 Do not support Israel. 0.93

00:23:56.240 Do not support Israel. 0.99

00:23:57.180 But if Iran is trying to murder Trump, then we should nuke them. 0.99

00:24:03.000 OK, Ben, that's absolutely wacky. 0.98

00:24:05.660 And look, it's the sign of someone who's not presenting an argument in good faith.

00:24:10.200 No, we should not be nuking Iran.

00:24:12.340 That that's not a good idea.

00:24:14.260 And by the way, this is a point where actually facts matter.

00:24:18.940 And part of what was frustrating about this interview is that Tucker just says things

00:24:23.560 that are blatantly false and he doesn't care if they're true or false.

00:24:27.040 So this is an objective fact.

00:24:29.140 I'm going to read to you from a political article on November 8th, 2024, not very long

00:24:35.100 ago.

00:24:35.620 Here's the title.

00:24:36.600 Iran ordered an operative to assassinate Trump before the election, federal prosecutors

00:24:41.680 say.

00:24:42.260 The alleged would-be assassin is believed to be in Iran and remains at large, prosecutors

00:24:46.280 said.

00:24:46.960 Here's the beginning of the article.

00:24:48.340 The Iranian government ordered an operative to assassinate Donald Trump before the 2024

00:24:52.380 election, Manhattan federal prosecutors said Friday.

00:24:55.340 The latest in a string of assassination plots directed at the former and future president

00:25:00.060 in recent months.

00:25:01.640 Prosecutors charged Farhad Shaqiri with murder for hire and providing material support to

00:25:07.100 foreign terrorist organization.

00:25:08.720 He is believed to be in Iran and remains at large, prosecutors said.

00:25:11.900 The article continues.

00:25:13.300 Quote, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in Manhattan federal court, Shaqiri said during

00:25:18.680 an FBI interview that in September he was directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of

00:25:25.100 Iran to surveil and kill Trump, whom the charging papers identify as victim for.

00:25:31.800 When Shaqiri told an IRGC official that doing so would prove expensive, the official responded

00:25:37.500 that money's not an issue, which Shaqiri understood to mean that the IRGC had previously spent a

00:25:43.960 significant sum of money on efforts to murder victim for and was willing to continue spending

00:25:49.480 a lot of money in its attempt to procure victims for assassination, according to the charging

00:25:54.200 papers.

00:25:54.940 So there's literally a Department of Justice indictment specifically against an assassin

00:26:00.380 for attempting to murder Trump.

00:26:04.200 There also, by the way, was a separate assassin who was arrested for renting an apartment next

00:26:08.980 to John Bolton, an Iranian assassin that was there to murder Trump's former national security 0.62

00:26:13.500 advisor, and as I noted, the Iranians put out an entire video, a minute and a half video,

00:26:19.480 it's an animated video, that shows Donald Trump playing golf and shows the Iranians using a drone

00:26:26.660 attack to kill him.

00:26:28.440 All of that is objectively true, and yet Tucker says, I've never heard a word of it, I don't

00:26:34.320 know anything about this, and I want to play this video right here.

00:26:37.900 This is in Farsi, but I want to play it, and then I'm going to tell you what he's saying.

00:26:41.820 So give a listen.

00:26:42.900 So let's just be clear, that's the IRGC commander, live on Islamic Republic of Iran State TV,

00:27:12.880 and tell people what he just said.

00:27:16.040 Well, his name is Amir Ali Hajizadeh.

00:27:20.080 He's the commander of the IRGC.

00:27:21.840 He's on national television, and he says, quote, 0.86

00:27:24.840 God willing, we'll be able to kill Trump, Pompeo, General McKenzie, and other U.S. commanders. 0.91

00:27:32.080 That's on TV. 0.95

00:27:33.400 Now, Tucker spent the entire interview denying that Iran was trying to kill President Trump.

00:27:39.580 That's objectively false.

00:27:41.280 Facts matter.

00:27:41.860 And bizarrely, he said, well, if that fact was true, he thought we should immediately attack

00:27:46.200 Iran, and we should nuke Iran. 0.99

00:27:47.780 Well, no, that's not the case.

00:27:49.520 We should not nuke Iran. 0.85

00:27:51.220 But we should do what President Trump is doing right now, which is support Israel in taking 0.95

00:27:55.960 out Iran's nuclear capability and their senior military leadership.

00:27:59.560 That actually makes sense.

00:28:01.060 And I'll tell you, the day after our interview aired, President Trump was asked about the

00:28:06.460 conflict between me and Tucker in the Oval Office.

00:28:09.300 And here, give a listen to the back and forth President Trump had in the Oval with a reporter.

00:28:13.760 When you see the Tucker Carlson and Senator Ted Cruz interview, it seems like this issue

00:28:17.680 on whether or not the United States should strike is kind of dividing a lot of your supporters.

00:28:21.680 No, my supporters are for me.

00:28:25.900 My supporters are America first.

00:28:27.980 They make America great again.

00:28:29.680 My supporters don't want to see Iran have a nuclear weapon.

00:28:32.880 Tucker's a nice guy.

00:28:33.780 He called, apologized the other day because he thought he said things were a little bit

00:28:38.000 too strong.

00:28:39.400 And I appreciated that.

00:28:40.820 And Ted Cruz is a nice guy.

00:28:42.500 I mean, he's been with me for a long time.

00:28:44.200 I'd say once the race was over, he's been with me ever since.

00:28:46.920 Right.

00:28:47.760 But very simple.

00:28:50.060 If they think that it's okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, then they should oppose

00:28:56.100 me.

00:28:56.380 But nobody thinks it's okay.

00:28:58.540 This goes back to the very beginning and why I think Tucker was so hostile.

00:29:04.380 He wanted a distraction from the fact that he had messed up with Trump.

00:29:07.760 He had to call Trump and apologize.

00:29:10.080 And he thought, all right, if I just go after Ted Cruz, maybe that'll fix all my problems.

00:29:14.160 I don't think it worked.

00:29:15.420 Well, and look, the reason that Tucker had to apologize to Trump is that he had been

00:29:19.740 publicly blasting Trump.

00:29:21.200 He said Trump was complicit in Israel's war.

00:29:24.780 And he said what Trump was doing was not America first.

00:29:28.260 And President Trump tweeted out and said, look, I'm the one who created America first, and

00:29:32.920 I decide what it is.

00:29:34.340 And allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon, that is not America first.

00:29:38.540 And that's exactly what President Trump said in the Oval.

00:29:42.140 You know what's amazing?

00:29:43.520 We've laid out the facts that is undisputed.

00:29:46.960 By the way, out of 100 senators, all 100 agree that Iran is trying to murder President Trump. 0.83

00:29:52.260 Even the looniest, even Bernie Sanders, even Elizabeth Warren doesn't dispute that Iran 0.98

00:29:57.180 is trying to murder Trump because it's an objective fact.

00:29:59.680 I've laid them out, those facts out repeatedly.

00:30:02.600 You know, Tucker has not responded once to that.

00:30:04.500 He has not said, oh, I was wrong on that.

00:30:06.820 He hasn't said, oh, well, gosh, I said if that was the case, we should attack Iran immediately 0.97

00:30:10.340 and nuke them, which, by the way, to be clear, we should not.

00:30:13.260 At the end of the day, facts matter.

00:30:16.060 And the good news is the commander in chief's job is to be clear eyed and do what is necessary

00:30:22.140 to keep America safe.

00:30:23.700 President Trump is doing that.

00:30:26.020 I spoke to him just a few days ago and I said, Mr. President, thank you.

00:30:29.280 Thank you for standing with Israel.

00:30:30.740 Thank you for standing up for America.

00:30:32.600 Thank you for defending our servicemen and women.

00:30:34.900 You notice Iran has not attacked our servicemen and women because the president has made clear

00:30:38.620 the consequences would be massive for doing so.

00:30:42.320 And President Trump right now is being strong and resolute.

00:30:46.520 And I'm proud to stand with the president that he is doing exactly the right thing.

00:30:51.300 He is embodying America first and he's keeping this country safe.

00:30:54.820 As always, thank you for listening to Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you.

00:31:00.080 Don't forget to download my podcast and you can listen to my podcast every other day.

00:31:03.740 You're not listening to Verdict or each day when you listen to Verdict afterwards.

00:31:06.700 I'd love to have you as a listener to, again, the Ben Ferguson podcast.

00:31:10.620 And we will see you back here on Monday morning.

00:31:14.340 This is an iHeart podcast.

00:31:17.200 Guaranteed human.

Verdict with Ted Cruz - June 21, 2025

Iran’s Threats should NOT be Towards Americans, Air Superiority over Tehran & Tucker doesn't buy Iranian Assassination Plan Week In Review

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