Verdict with Ted Cruz - War in the Middle East： Israel Strikes Iran-What's Next？

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:02.680 Guaranteed human.

00:00:05.280 Welcome. It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you.

00:00:08.760 It's so nice to have you with us.

00:00:10.220 Many of you are listening on radio stations around the country to this show as well.

00:00:14.380 We welcome you in and we want to say, don't forget, download Verdict with Ted Cruz

00:00:18.380 wherever you get your podcasts as we do this show three days a week.

00:00:23.200 Senator, we've got breaking news and it is a major world event.

00:00:28.720 Israel going after Iran, hitting targets there.

00:00:32.880 This has obviously woken a lot of people up around the world as we're doing this show.

00:00:37.460 We are gathered right now at a time of war, that time when Israel is striking back at Iran,

00:00:42.980 striking back to ensure that Iran does not acquire nuclear weapons.

00:00:46.960 And you and I are recording this podcast.

00:00:49.440 It is 12.07 a.m. on Friday morning.

00:00:51.820 So the events may change in the next 48 hours.

00:00:55.040 But at 12.07 a.m., the war is just unfolding.

00:00:59.740 And we're seeing what's happening.

00:01:01.100 And what's happening so far, Israel's strikes by the early reports have been enormously effective. 0.93

00:01:08.200 Israel has taken out the chief of the IRGC.

00:01:12.800 Israel has taken out the successor to the chief of the IRGC.

00:01:16.040 Israel has decimated Natanz, a major nuclear site in Iran.

00:01:22.080 And Israel is carrying out multiple military strikes right now as we speak.

00:01:27.180 Now, I will say by the time you listen to this podcast, it may be Friday during the day and you're listening to the podcast.

00:01:32.960 It may be Saturday or Sunday and you're listening to this show on the radio.

00:01:36.580 Things may have changed by then, but right now we are seeing war in the Middle East.

00:01:42.960 We are seeing Israel acting decisively to protect herself.

00:01:47.060 And I will say there are several messages that every one of us need to hear.

00:01:50.400 But the two that are most important are, number one, America stands unequivocally with the state of Israel.

00:01:58.680 We are with Israel and her right to defend herself with no daylight whatsoever.

00:02:03.800 And number two, a message to the Ayatollah.

00:02:08.180 We have an enormous number of American servicemen and women in harm's way in the Middle East.

00:02:13.540 The Ayatollah needs to understand if you strike out and attack American servicemen and women,

00:02:20.420 if you kill even a single American serviceman or woman, I am absolutely confident President Trump will respond with overwhelming force.

00:02:30.880 And so the Ayatollah should know, do not attack America as a response to this military assault. 0.59

00:02:38.400 Amen to that.

00:02:39.000 And look, this is such a hard time right now for so many in Israel and so many that listen to the show have asked,

00:02:45.500 what can I do to help?

00:02:47.560 How do I stand with the people in Israel?

00:02:49.440 They need our help now more than ever.

00:02:51.000 And that's why I want you to get involved with an organization that I'm heavily involved with.

00:02:55.680 It's called the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

00:02:58.640 And we are seeing something that's disturbing.

00:03:01.180 Anti-Semitism on the rise around the world.

00:03:04.560 Sadly, right here in America, you have seen Jewish schools that have been targeted,

00:03:08.740 synagogues that have been threatened, families that are living in fear.

00:03:12.120 And that's happening in the U.S.

00:03:14.000 Imagine what's happening right now in Israel.

00:03:16.700 And that's why I want you to know about the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

00:03:20.800 They're on the front lines, and they're providing hope and help when it is needed the most, especially right now.

00:03:27.920 They're giving food and shelter to Jewish families that are under threat.

00:03:32.180 They are building countless bomb shelters for children to keep them safe in Israel.

00:03:38.480 They're helping survivors of hate rebuild their lives, and they don't just respond to crisis.

00:03:43.360 They work every day to prevent it.

00:03:45.240 Now, your gift of only $45 not only will help support life-saving work by providing food and shelter and bomb shelters and armored vehicles,

00:03:55.680 but it will give them peace, knowing that there are people standing with the people in Israel.

00:04:02.860 So if you've thought about helping, now is the time to do it.

00:04:06.600 Call them and make a donation, 888-488-IFCJ.

00:04:12.560 That's 888-488-4325.

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00:04:24.620 Don't wait.

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00:04:31.860 All right, Senator, so let's start with the basic question, and that is, how did this begin?

00:04:40.260 What have you learned, being in Washington, D.C., about this strike on these Iranian nuclear sites and military targets?

00:04:47.880 What do you know tonight that you can tell people listening?

00:04:52.380 Well, let me say, first of all, I believe this attack was inevitable,

00:04:56.360 that Iran was hell-bent on acquiring nuclear weapons.

00:05:01.360 President Trump said repeatedly and unequivocally that the only option for Iran was a complete and total dismantlement

00:05:10.040 of their centrifuges, of their enrichment capacity, of their ability to enrich uranium.

00:05:15.760 I led a letter with 52 Republican senators where we said, united, we agree with President Trump.

00:05:23.780 This is the red line, complete and total dismantlement of their nuclear capacity.

00:05:29.300 Now, what President Trump said is there's two ways they can do this.

00:05:33.220 One, they can do so peacefully through negotiations, and that's what the Trump administration was trying to do.

00:05:39.080 Or two, if they refuse to dismantle, they will have the centrifuges dismantled through warfare.

00:05:47.120 Well, this morning, the Iranian regime announced it was not going to shut down even a single centrifuge.

00:05:56.080 Instead, it was going to build more, that they were hell-bent on building more centrifuges, enriching more uranium,

00:06:02.340 and they were on the path to a nuclear weapon.

00:06:04.860 And I've got to say, Ben, the consequences of the statements this morning were, number one,

00:06:12.240 they were a gigantic middle finger to President Trump.

00:06:15.400 They were saying, we don't care what you say, we want nuclear weapons, and we're not going to be dissuaded,

00:06:21.240 we're not going to be deterred.

00:06:22.500 But number two, they were a very clear message to Israel.

00:06:25.620 Attack us now, because we are barreling towards acquiring a nuclear weapon,

00:06:30.960 and if you wait, you may find yourself with an enemy that has a nuclear weapon 0.99

00:06:35.900 and that can detonate it over the skies of Israel and kill millions of Israelis.

00:06:40.620 And so Iran set us on this course, and the government of Israel is acting to keep the people of Israel safe,

00:06:49.080 but it is nonetheless an extraordinarily perilous time for Israel, for America, and for the world.

00:06:56.400 Senator, you just mentioned that this was inevitable, and it does feel like it was a long time coming,

00:07:01.220 and there was a question of who was going to do it.

00:07:03.340 Was it going to be America? 0.94

00:07:04.760 Was it going to be Israel? 0.51

00:07:06.260 Well, clearly now we know this is Israel that is launching this preemptive strike, 0.53

00:07:10.060 and some would even argue this was long overdue.

00:07:13.700 Yes, and I will say, President Trump announced on April 12th

00:07:18.780 that Iran has 60 days to negotiate and agree to this, 60 days.

00:07:24.080 This attack was launched on June 12th, Thursday, June 12th, exactly 60 days after that.

00:07:31.720 That is not an accident.

00:07:32.980 Iran understood, they had a time frame, but you've got to understand,

00:07:37.360 the Iranians, when they negotiate, they want to delay, they want to delay, 1.00

00:07:40.320 they want to continue to reap the benefits of Joe Biden and the Democrats' weakness and appeasement

00:07:47.260 and fuel the money that they received into developing nuclear weapons.

00:07:52.200 And so Israel made the decision.

00:07:54.240 They made the decision they were going to attack.

00:07:56.460 They were going to attack on exactly the 60-day expiration of President Trump's deadline.

00:08:01.380 And I think that was driven by Iran beginning Thursday by saying, 0.64

00:08:07.000 we're not changing a damn thing.

00:08:09.560 We're going to keep building centrifuges.

00:08:12.160 And effectively, we want a nuclear weapon, and there's nothing you can do to stop us.

00:08:16.820 Israel acted to demonstrate that was not right.

00:08:19.760 Senator, I want to also remind people, we do this show as a podcast,

00:08:22.640 so you can grab it three days a week wherever you get your podcasts.

00:08:25.760 Don't forget, subscribe to Vertic with Ted Cruz.

00:08:27.780 And let's get into what Netanyahu had to say as well.

00:08:31.140 Senator, Netanyahu came out and spoke very boldly, not just to the people in Israel,

00:08:36.080 but also to the world.

00:08:37.740 So on Thursday evening, as the military strike was beginning,

00:08:41.680 Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed Israel and addressed the world.

00:08:45.320 Here's what he had to say.

00:08:46.120 Moments ago, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion,

00:08:52.440 a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel's very survival.

00:08:59.420 This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.

00:09:05.060 For decades, the tyrants of Tehran have brazenly, openly called for Israel's destruction.

00:09:11.280 They've backed up their genocidal rhetoric with a program to develop nuclear weapons.

00:09:17.620 In recent years, Iran has produced enough highly enriched uranium for nine atom bombs.

00:09:24.420 Nine.

00:09:25.560 In recent months, Iran has taken steps that it has never taken before,

00:09:31.060 steps to weaponize this enriched uranium.

00:09:33.460 And if not stopped, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time.

00:09:39.240 It could be a year.

00:09:40.300 It could be within a few months, less than a year.

00:09:43.240 This is a clear and present danger to Israel's very survival. 0.99

00:09:48.260 Eighty years ago, the Jewish people were the victims of a holocaust perpetrated by the Nazi regime.

00:09:55.200 Today, the Jewish state refuses to be a victim of a nuclear holocaust perpetrated by the Iranian regime. 0.92

00:10:02.460 Now, as Prime Minister, I've made it clear time and again,

00:10:07.460 Israel will never allow those who call for our annihilation to develop the means to achieve that goal.

00:10:14.160 Tonight, Israel backs those words with action.

00:10:18.060 We struck at the heart of Iran's nuclear enrichment program.

00:10:21.380 We struck at the heart of Iran's nuclear weaponization program. 0.95

00:10:25.500 We targeted Iran's main enrichment facility in Natanz.

00:10:28.820 We targeted Iran's leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb. 0.65

00:10:34.000 We also struck at the heart of Iran's ballistic missile program.

00:10:38.060 Last year, Iran fired 300 ballistic missiles at Israel.

00:10:42.640 Each of these missiles carries a ton of explosives and threatens the lives of hundreds of people.

00:10:49.180 Soon, those missiles could carry a nuclear payload, threatening the lives, not of hundreds, but of millions.

00:10:57.400 Iran is gearing up to produce 10,000 of those ballistic missiles within three years.

00:11:04.220 Now, just imagine.

00:11:05.920 Imagine 10,000 tons of TNT landing on a country the size of New Jersey.

00:11:12.060 You listen to Netanyahu there, and not only was he very clear and direct, but it was, I think, an argument that if you're a sane person, wherever you are in the world,

00:11:28.440 and you're looking at the position that Israel is in with Iran next door, they had no choice but to do this.

00:11:34.720 Yes.

00:11:36.180 Look, as you know, I know Prime Minister Netanyahu very well.

00:11:39.800 He is a friend.

00:11:40.860 We've spent a lot of time together.

00:11:42.320 When he was in D.C. last month, he and I spent two, almost two and a half hours together, just one-on-one.

00:11:50.600 I will tell you, in the 13 years I've been in the Senate, I've met a lot of world leaders.

00:11:55.100 That's part of the job, is you meet the leaders of foreign countries.

00:11:59.480 There is only one who has taken my breath away.

00:12:02.840 I think Prime Minister Netanyahu, the adjective I've used for him, I've not used for anyone else, is Churchillian,

00:12:11.020 because I think he has a seriousness of purpose.

00:12:13.860 I think he has a gravitas.

00:12:15.640 He understands that he is facing literally a threat to annihilate the people of his country,

00:12:21.800 and he is committed to doing everything necessary to prevent it.

00:12:26.520 You know, I'll tell you, when Obama was president, and when Obama was negotiating and announcing the Obama-Iran nuclear deal,

00:12:35.060 which was catastrophically devastating,

00:12:37.720 the House of Representatives invited Prime Minister Netanyahu to come and address a joint session of Congress.

00:12:43.560 And when that happened, I invited Elie Wiesel, who is the Nobel laureate, incredible, incredible man,

00:12:52.400 to come participate in a conversation with me on what the threat of a nuclear Iran was.

00:12:58.320 Now, Elie, he wanted it to be very much a bipartisan event.

00:13:03.700 So I invited Chuck Schumer to participate.

00:13:06.100 He said no.

00:13:08.180 I invited multiple Democrats to participate.

00:13:12.380 One after the other.

00:13:13.820 After the other, they said no.

00:13:15.560 Finally, I told Elie, no Democrat will participate.

00:13:18.920 We did a gathering in the Capitol.

00:13:20.640 We had over 500 people come in the Capitol, listen to Elie Wiesel,

00:13:24.520 talk about his experiences seeing the horrors of the Holocaust,

00:13:30.000 seeing the horrors of evil in Nazi Germany.

00:13:33.060 And I got to say, when Elie Wiesel talked about never again means never again.

00:13:40.540 And the greatest threat of another Holocaust on planet Earth is a nuclear Iran 1.00

00:13:46.700 where these theocratic lunatics use nuclear weapons to murder millions of Israelis. 0.98

00:13:53.520 It was powerful. 0.98

00:13:55.100 It took my breath away to be sitting at the table with him.

00:13:58.200 But it also spoke volumes that not a single Democrat was willing to be in the room.

00:14:03.940 And I'll tell you, Ben, so on that speech on the Senate floor, I was there.

00:14:07.760 I listened to Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech, which was powerful.

00:14:11.260 It was incredibly important.

00:14:12.980 And we saw a vast number of Democrats boycott the speech, refuse to attend.

00:14:19.760 We saw that again when when when the Prime Minister addressed Congress more recently.

00:14:23.640 And again, Democrats boycotted the speech, Kamala Harris boycotted the speech, refused to listen 0.96

00:14:30.080 to the democratically elected leader of Israel.

00:14:32.720 And it is a sad dynamic that today's Democrat Party is dominated by the pro-Hamas faction.

00:14:41.620 Today's Democrat Party is in panic because right now far too many of their radicals sympathize

00:14:47.740 with Iran over Israel, and that may sound like hyperbole, but you know what?

00:14:53.300 We are going to see.

00:14:54.440 I'm going to predict this.

00:14:55.540 You and I, this is early Friday morning.

00:14:58.560 We are going to see Democrat after Democrat saying to Israel, 0.76

00:15:03.920 you need to restrain yourself, not calling out Iran, but calling out Israel,

00:15:08.660 because that is where the base of the Democrat Party is.

00:15:12.120 Yes.

00:15:12.540 Yeah.

00:15:12.740 After the attack, they came out and said they must show restraint

00:15:15.760 before they'd even been able to figure out what had happened in Israel.

00:15:18.820 They're like, well, they need to show restraint.

00:15:20.320 They must show restraint.

00:15:21.480 Everything they have to calm down.

00:15:22.060 The Biden administration over and over again said, do not kill the terrorists.

00:15:25.460 Do not kill the terrorists.

00:15:26.540 They cut off weapons to Israel. 0.95

00:15:28.880 The radical left in the Democrat Party hates Israel,

00:15:33.060 and that battle is only going to get worse.

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00:16:05.580 One of the things I love about doing this show, Senator,

00:16:10.360 is moments after this attack took place, Israel on Iran,

00:16:16.140 you were actually on the phone with the ambassador from Israel.

00:16:19.540 What did he tell you about this attack?

00:16:21.900 How long had they been planning this?

00:16:24.000 What was the final decision that made this happen in the last several hours?

00:16:29.540 Well, understand, this show happens real time.

00:16:32.540 It happens real time in real life.

00:16:34.240 You and I are recording this early in the morning, Friday morning.

00:16:38.000 This podcast will come out later in the day on Friday,

00:16:40.420 so some of you will be listening to this on Friday.

00:16:42.780 Others of you will be hearing this on radio on Saturday or Sunday.

00:16:46.780 And so the world may have changed.

00:16:48.580 48 hours at the time when a war is initiating is a mountain of time.

00:16:54.280 What I can tell you is late Thursday night,

00:16:57.620 as Israel was launching its attacks,

00:17:00.100 before Iran has engaged in a counterattack,

00:17:02.620 I was on the phone with the Israeli ambassador to the United States,

00:17:07.680 and he told me that the attack, at least so far,

00:17:12.000 had gone extraordinarily well,

00:17:13.540 that they'd taken out senior leadership of the IRGC.

00:17:16.620 And I've got to say, by the way,

00:17:17.840 that's a huge victory for the United States of America.

00:17:21.160 The IRGC has murdered over 600 American servicemen and women.

00:17:26.660 They are grotesquely hostile to the United States,

00:17:32.220 and for Israel to take them out is an enormous benefit to America.

00:17:36.620 But at the same time, the Israeli ambassador told me

00:17:39.440 that the instruction had gone out in Israel to the people of Israel,

00:17:44.040 go to a bomb shelter, 0.80

00:17:46.120 either be in a bomb shelter or be very near a bomb shelter,

00:17:49.360 because they are anticipating early in the morning, Friday morning,

00:17:53.920 that Iran is going to launch a massive counterattack with ballistic weapons.

00:18:00.640 And Israel has extensive anti-missile defenses,

00:18:04.760 but Iran has sufficient volume that if they launch everything,

00:18:08.560 they have the capacity to overwhelm the defenses.

00:18:10.920 And so there is a very real possibility.

00:18:13.880 The people of Israel are braced.

00:18:15.140 They understand.

00:18:16.580 Look, look, they're not playing games.

00:18:21.100 They are playing with real stakes.

00:18:23.380 They're playing with live rounds.

00:18:24.940 The people of Israel understand right now,

00:18:28.160 as you and I are recording this, 0.56

00:18:30.120 that we may see Israelis die right now, 1.00

00:18:32.740 because Iran has enough missiles that if they launch them all, 0.86

00:18:36.180 there will be Israelis murdered in the minutes and hours ahead of us. 0.84

00:18:42.100 But at the same time,

00:18:44.040 Prime Minister Netanyahu made the decision.

00:18:45.960 It's a decision I agree with.

00:18:47.320 It's a decision that I think was right,

00:18:49.500 which is the risk of Israelis dying and of Americans dying

00:18:55.120 if Iran acquires a nuclear weapon is qualitatively different,

00:18:59.820 that we could face with an Iranian nuclear weapon, 0.75

00:19:04.820 and we could face millions murdered.

00:19:07.820 And so, listen, I want to underscore what I said at the beginning of this podcast.

00:19:13.000 Pray for the people of Israel,

00:19:14.720 and pray for our servicemen and women in harm's way,

00:19:17.980 because this is a very, very dangerous time right now.

00:19:21.080 Well, let's talk about who is targeted

00:19:23.100 and what this looks like moving forward from the standpoint of Israel.

00:19:26.780 I mean, the objective here is clearly to put them back

00:19:30.080 when it comes to their nuclear program,

00:19:32.060 but they also went after people that were involved in that program,

00:19:34.820 which is a really big way to move things backwards.

00:19:38.340 Yeah, look, this was a decapitation strike.

00:19:41.240 It was targeted at the senior military leaders in Iran.

00:19:44.880 It was targeted at the nuclear facilities in Iran.

00:19:48.380 It was targeted at the anti-air assault facilities in Iran.

00:19:54.400 It was a very targeted but massively effective strike.

00:19:59.280 Now, Iran is going to strike back.

00:20:01.940 Understand that.

00:20:02.980 That's not a possibility or a probability.

00:20:06.520 It is a certainty that Iran will hit back. 0.90

00:20:09.460 Now, what I hope Iran understands is they should not hit back at America.

00:20:14.060 Hitting back at America would escalate this dramatically.

00:20:16.960 And I will say, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio,

00:20:21.840 he put out a statement Thursday night.

00:20:23.640 Let me read his statement.

00:20:25.160 Quote,

00:20:25.720 Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran.

00:20:30.680 We were not involved in strikes against Iran,

00:20:33.940 and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region.

00:20:38.200 Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense.

00:20:42.540 President Trump and the administration have taken all necessary steps

00:20:47.140 to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners.

00:20:53.380 Let me be clear.

00:20:55.080 Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel.

00:21:00.320 Now, look, I'm glad that the Secretary of State was putting out that statement,

00:21:05.200 defending our servicemen and women.

00:21:07.080 I wish there had been more in that statement saying we stand with Israel.

00:21:10.840 That was missing from the statement, and it shouldn't have been.

00:21:15.660 From my perspective, we stand unequivocally with Israel,

00:21:18.880 but I understand why the Secretary of State didn't do that,

00:21:22.240 which is that he's concerned that Iran may strike at U.S. military forces.

00:21:28.660 Now, in my view, the way to prevent that is not to say to Iran, 0.82

00:21:33.360 hey, we had nothing to do with that,

00:21:35.020 which was the main theme of the Secretary of State's statement.

00:21:39.600 But rather to say, if you attack U.S. forces, the consequences will be overwhelming.

00:21:46.820 I think Iran responds more to stick than to carrot. 0.92

00:21:51.980 But we shall see, and it is any way you look at it, an unbelievably dangerous time.

00:21:59.500 Senator, let's talk about some of the people that have been taken out here.

00:22:02.560 There's two aspects of these strikes.

00:22:04.980 One, nuclear scientists are being reported that they were targeted and have been killed,

00:22:09.780 and that is the brains of the nuclear program.

00:22:13.540 If you want to stop Iran from doing this, taking out nuclear scientists is absolutely brilliant. 1.00

00:22:19.560 It's the computer system, the nervous system of everything they're trying to accomplish.

00:22:23.520 That's incredible.

00:22:25.100 But we also now know from virtually every news agency is reporting this,

00:22:30.160 that the IRGC terror chief, Salami, has also been eliminated.

00:22:35.080 That is significant as well.

00:22:37.240 Well, we now know that Hussein Salami is lunch meat. 0.98

00:22:41.760 And I feel a little cheesy making fun of him. 1.00

00:22:45.060 But then again, the guy is a racist, genocidal, homicidal lunatic. 1.00

00:22:52.820 So I hope after Salami, Bologna, and Pastrami both get eliminated as well. 1.00

00:22:59.180 And if you look at the head of the IRGC,

00:23:04.460 he has responsibility for murdering over 600 U.S. servicemen and women.

00:23:12.040 So if you love the men and women of the armed services,

00:23:16.540 if you are grateful for friends, family, loved ones who have served defending this nation,

00:23:22.440 then you ought to say tonight to the nation of Israel, thank you.

00:23:26.120 Thank you for taking out the head of the IRGC

00:23:28.520 that is responsible for murdering hundreds of American servicemen and women.

00:23:34.780 President Trump, when he was president the first time, he took out General Soleimani.

00:23:39.040 And now, today, the Israelis have taken out Salami, 1.00

00:23:44.340 a successor who is the terror chief of the IRGC,

00:23:49.660 and he is now with his 72 virgins.

00:23:52.700 Although I will tell you, much to his dismay,

00:23:55.220 those virgins are all Gomer Pyle, and it's not what he hoped for.

00:23:58.820 I've got to say, one of the best parts about this story,

00:24:01.400 just a side note, if you look up Salami on his pages on Wikipedia,

00:24:06.960 it already says he's like the former guy in charge of the IRGC.

00:24:11.960 I love the Internet when they get it right really quickly, Senator.

00:24:14.740 It is amazing to see this moment in history,

00:24:17.940 because this is a moment in history, and I've got to ask you this.

00:24:22.020 Iran now is going to respond, I'm sure, in some way. 0.99

00:24:24.780 I'm sure Israel is expecting that. 1.00

00:24:27.680 You made it very clear tonight, America's warning,

00:24:29.980 and from this administration, what happens next,

00:24:34.720 and what is Israel expecting in your mind?

00:24:38.180 Well, it depends on the escalation.

00:24:40.320 I think it is 100% certain that Iran will respond by firing missiles at Israel.

00:24:46.640 Israel gets that. 0.92

00:24:47.760 They understand that.

00:24:48.660 They're ready for that.

00:24:50.360 There is some real possibility that Iran will respond by firing missiles

00:24:55.080 or other weapons at Americans, and I think if they do that,

00:24:59.160 they will dramatically escalate this conflict.

00:25:01.560 I think they will provoke.

00:25:03.040 If they murder American servicemen and women,

00:25:05.300 I think you will see President Trump respond with devastating force,

00:25:09.720 and so, again, my message to the Ayatollahs, do not do that.

00:25:14.400 Their response to Israel, I don't know what it will be.

00:25:16.880 There is a risk that their response is devastating, that it is overwhelming.

00:25:23.520 They have a massive number of ballistic missiles,

00:25:26.560 so if they fire them all, the odds are significant

00:25:29.880 that we will see a very large number of Israelis murdered. 0.99

00:25:33.780 What I'm saying, Prime Minister Netanyahu understands.

00:25:38.000 He knows that.

00:25:39.000 He knows that by virtue of engaging in this attack tonight,

00:25:42.940 there is a real risk of a significant number of Israelis being murdered,

00:25:46.560 but he did this because he knows that if Iran has a nuclear weapon,

00:25:52.700 many, many more Israelis and many, many more Americans

00:25:56.380 are at risk of being murdered. 0.53

00:25:58.460 Look, the Ayatollah chants death to America and death to Israel.

00:26:03.340 I believe he believes that,

00:26:05.660 and so acquiring a nuclear weapon is not just an academic question.

00:26:09.520 If he gets a nuclear weapon, I believe he is trying to acquire one

00:26:13.600 because he wants to carry out his promises of death to Israel and death to America,

00:26:18.760 and that's precisely why Israel has launched this attack to stop him from getting that capability.

00:26:24.300 I also, Senator, want to play for you what the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations

00:26:29.000 had to say on CNN earlier.

00:26:31.880 Here is what he had to say when he was asked a couple of different questions about this strike.

00:26:35.800 Also joining me is Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danone.

00:26:39.600 Ambassador, it's great to have you here, sir.

00:26:41.600 Just first, on the strike that we are seeing play out tonight and what this means,

00:26:45.640 should we now consider Israel to be at war with Iran?

00:26:48.260 Prime Minister Netanyahu was very clear.

00:26:51.580 We took a preemptive attack to defend ourselves, to defend ourselves,

00:26:55.540 and we are targeting the nuclear facilities and the ballistic missile centers in Iran.

00:27:02.420 So we don't go into declarations now.

00:27:05.020 We take actions.

00:27:06.260 We decided not to wait for Iran to attack us with nuclear capabilities. 0.95

00:27:11.180 We knew that they were plotting to do that.

00:27:14.000 And while they were talking with many countries and negotiating,

00:27:18.280 they moved secretly with a military plan to attack Israel.

00:27:22.460 And what we did was an act of self-defense.

00:27:25.440 And we have abilities.

00:27:26.760 You know, Caitlin, 80 years ago when Auschwitz was liberated,

00:27:30.340 we required the support of the allies to protect our people.

00:27:33.820 But today we have our own state, our own military, our own air force,

00:27:39.060 and today we are protecting ourselves from another Holocaust. 0.86

00:27:42.120 I mean, these are much wider than the preemptive strikes based on what we've seen so far,

00:27:47.280 especially in terms of targeting Iran's top military leaders as well as senior nuclear scientists,

00:27:52.540 kind of en masse based on what we have heard.

00:27:55.420 Do you know how many of those top military leaders and nuclear scientists in Iran,

00:28:00.980 the strikes against them were successful?

00:28:02.580 How many of them have been eliminated tonight?

00:28:04.040 No, I cannot go into those details, but I can tell you one thing.

00:28:07.900 Those people who were involved in the nuclear production,

00:28:13.320 those who were putting together the ballistic missiles,

00:28:16.420 they are targets, they are part of the machine that threatened Israel and other countries in the world. 0.95

00:28:22.000 You know, if you look back at attacks that Israel took,

00:28:24.720 whether it was against Iraq or Syria,

00:28:27.940 who tried to develop nuclear reactors,

00:28:29.660 I think today everybody can thank Israel for those actions. 0.66

00:28:33.420 So maybe today some people are not sure about why we are doing it today,

00:28:38.260 but down the road, a few years from today,

00:28:41.260 the world will thank Israel for the actions we took tonight. 0.99

00:28:45.080 The world will thank Israel for the actions taken tonight. 1.00

00:28:48.300 Is that the big takeaway from all of this?

00:28:50.880 It should be,

00:28:51.940 but understand that the pro-Hamas radical left in the Democrat Party

00:28:56.640 is cheering on exactly the opposite side.

00:29:00.240 So Ben Rhodes,

00:29:01.400 many of y'all listening know who Ben Rhodes is.

00:29:03.660 Ben Rhodes was a top national security official

00:29:06.960 in the Barack Obama National Security Council.

00:29:10.360 He is the lead architect of the Obama-Iran nuclear deal.

00:29:16.380 He is a hardcore leftist, 0.96

00:29:18.940 and tonight he's miserable. 0.94

00:29:20.800 So Ben Rhodes,

00:29:22.680 late Thursday night,

00:29:23.680 he tweeted out,

00:29:24.500 quote,

00:29:25.700 this is all so unnecessary.

00:29:29.520 All of it.

00:29:31.400 Everywhere.

00:29:32.900 Understand,

00:29:34.060 when Israel attacks Iran

00:29:35.960 to take out the nuclear capacities,

00:29:37.900 Ben Rhodes,

00:29:39.240 the leading national security official for Barack Obama,

00:29:42.740 is,

00:29:43.100 I think Ben is in tears right now.

00:29:45.720 And listen,

00:29:46.500 the Iran nuclear deal under Obama was a disaster.

00:29:51.680 Under Joe Biden,

00:29:52.820 their top foreign policy objective

00:29:54.540 was to have another Iran nuclear deal.

00:29:56.960 The only thing that stopped it is Iran was so unreasonable, 1.00

00:30:00.420 they would not accept it.

00:30:02.160 And there are so many in the Democrat Party right now

00:30:06.300 that are cheering for Iran.

00:30:08.980 I'll tell you what,

00:30:09.720 I'm cheering for America, 0.99

00:30:11.100 damn it. 0.99

00:30:11.380 And I'm cheering for Israel. 1.00

00:30:13.740 And people who are theocratic lunatics 0.99

00:30:16.000 who say they want to murder us, 0.98

00:30:18.340 I am not dismayed that we are seeing a military force

00:30:21.800 stand up and take them out,

00:30:23.200 and in particular,

00:30:24.460 take out their nuclear capacity.

00:30:27.080 That is critically important.

00:30:29.420 We do not want people who want to murder us

00:30:32.620 to have the tools to do so.

00:30:35.340 And I think Israel's attack 1.00

00:30:37.940 did enormous benefit to America.

00:30:40.360 You mentioned taking away their tools,

00:30:42.800 and one of their tools

00:30:43.560 was going after their scientists.

00:30:45.500 I mean,

00:30:45.760 this is the brains behind everything.

00:30:48.540 This took a lot of planning,

00:30:50.760 and apparently it was incredibly successful as well.

00:30:53.620 I mean,

00:30:53.880 this is taking out their nervous system,

00:30:55.980 of the computer system,

00:30:58.880 whatever you want to call it,

00:31:00.480 for their nuclear program

00:31:01.760 by going after the scientists.

00:31:03.100 It's absolutely brilliant,

00:31:03.940 and they pulled it off.

00:31:05.340 They did.

00:31:06.260 It was executed with amazing precision.

00:31:09.900 Now, it's early.

00:31:10.580 Look,

00:31:10.900 you and I are both talking

00:31:12.380 early in the morning,

00:31:13.520 Friday morning.

00:31:14.780 It is possible that problems develop

00:31:17.840 later Friday,

00:31:18.660 later Saturday,

00:31:19.380 later Sunday.

00:31:20.280 One of the challenges

00:31:21.420 of doing a show like this

00:31:22.920 at the beginning of military conflict

00:31:25.080 is you don't know how things will shake out.

00:31:27.240 But I will say this.

00:31:28.380 So Benjamin Netanyahu

00:31:29.400 is a strong conservative.

00:31:31.320 One of his predecessors

00:31:32.760 as Israeli prime minister,

00:31:35.340 was Naftali Bennett.

00:31:36.520 Now,

00:31:36.820 Naftali had been previously

00:31:39.440 Netanyahu's chief of staff.

00:31:42.240 But then Bennett

00:31:44.760 broke with Netanyahu

00:31:48.240 and ended up becoming

00:31:49.300 prime minister himself

00:31:50.460 in significant part

00:31:51.960 by opposing Netanyahu.

00:31:53.900 But I want you to listen

00:31:54.980 to this clip

00:31:56.480 of former Israeli prime minister

00:31:58.240 Naftali Bennett

00:31:59.120 talking about

00:32:00.740 what this is all about.

00:32:02.200 Give a listen.

00:32:03.100 Well,

00:32:03.920 the Israelis

00:32:04.680 had a siren

00:32:05.620 across the country

00:32:07.120 indicating that

00:32:08.540 Israel's air force

00:32:10.200 is conducting

00:32:11.100 a preemptive strike

00:32:13.020 against Iran's 0.95

00:32:14.920 military

00:32:15.640 facilities

00:32:16.800 and perhaps

00:32:17.420 also the nuclear facilities.

00:32:19.040 I want to remind you

00:32:21.160 that Iran's 0.94

00:32:22.340 about a week away

00:32:23.640 from being able

00:32:25.040 to obtain

00:32:25.920 the amount

00:32:27.680 of enriched uranium

00:32:29.020 for 10 bombs.

00:32:31.480 So this is not me saying this.

00:32:33.100 This is the

00:32:33.800 international

00:32:35.000 nuclear community.

00:32:38.680 And the goal

00:32:40.360 ultimately will be

00:32:41.480 to remove

00:32:42.200 the nuclear threat

00:32:43.380 from the Middle East 0.91

00:32:44.240 and hitting the head 0.99

00:32:46.020 of the octopus 0.99

00:32:46.620 of terror

00:32:47.280 that's been causing

00:32:48.500 all of the mess

00:32:50.640 we've seen

00:32:51.200 over the past couple

00:32:52.040 of years

00:32:52.500 in the region.

00:32:54.060 I mean,

00:32:54.960 there it is.

00:32:56.420 And I will say

00:32:57.840 when today's Democrats

00:33:00.400 in the Senate and House

00:33:01.920 are to the left

00:33:04.020 of that

00:33:04.400 are saying

00:33:05.100 do not attack Iran

00:33:06.340 and we're going to see

00:33:07.620 I'm going to make a prediction

00:33:08.880 in the hours

00:33:09.940 and days ahead

00:33:10.720 we're going to see

00:33:12.180 a massive rise

00:33:13.200 in the attacks

00:33:13.940 from the anti-Semitic left

00:33:15.400 and the anti-Semitic left

00:33:17.120 is growing bigger

00:33:17.920 and bigger

00:33:18.380 and so those who

00:33:19.160 hate Israel 0.54

00:33:20.080 will be really vocal

00:33:21.020 and unfortunately

00:33:22.320 there's also a contingent

00:33:23.920 on the anti-Semitic right.

00:33:25.240 The anti-Semitic right

00:33:26.160 is smaller

00:33:26.840 than the left

00:33:28.080 but both of them

00:33:29.100 are absolutely wrong

00:33:30.360 and you're going to see

00:33:31.900 online people say

00:33:33.220 the Israelis

00:33:34.440 are dragging us

00:33:35.400 into war.

00:33:36.520 I'm here to tell you

00:33:37.420 the Israelis

00:33:38.100 are acting

00:33:39.600 to prevent war

00:33:40.800 to prevent Iran 1.00

00:33:42.100 from getting nuclear weapons

00:33:43.520 and those nuclear weapons

00:33:45.140 could well be used

00:33:46.320 to murder 1.00

00:33:47.200 millions of Israelis 0.98

00:33:48.620 or millions of Americans

00:33:50.120 and so

00:33:51.000 Israel is acting 1.00

00:33:52.700 in self-defense

00:33:54.520 and I want to be clear

00:33:56.800 America

00:33:57.900 stands with Israel.

00:33:59.800 Don't forget

00:34:00.620 please make sure

00:34:01.360 you share this podcast

00:34:02.580 wherever you can

00:34:03.520 on social media

00:34:04.260 as we continue

00:34:04.940 to stand with Israel.

00:34:05.860 Also we will have

00:34:07.440 the week in review

00:34:08.660 maybe some of the big stories

00:34:10.000 you missed this week

00:34:10.680 will come out tomorrow

00:34:11.740 as well.

00:34:12.780 Hit that subscribe

00:34:13.580 or auto download button

00:34:14.540 and grab my podcast

00:34:15.420 as well

00:34:15.840 the Ben Ferguson podcast

00:34:17.100 wherever you get your podcasts

00:34:18.920 and then Senator and I

00:34:19.920 will see you back here

00:34:20.940 tomorrow

00:34:21.440 for the week in review.

00:34:23.880 This is an iHeart podcast

00:34:25.540 Guaranteed Human 0.83

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Verdict with Ted Cruz - June 13, 2025

War in the Middle East： Israel Strikes Iran-What's Next？

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