Ted Cruz Says ‘There’s A Reason The Ayatollah Is Developing Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles’

Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz appeared on Fox News Tuesday to discuss what he called the existential threat posed by Iran and its nuclear ambitions.

Iran has reportedly conducted a test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at its missile testing and space center in Shahroud in northern Iran. During an appearance on “Hannity,” Cruz discussed the risks that he said a nuclear-capable Iran could bring not just to the Middle East but to the United States as well.

“The ayatollah is a religious nutcase. He is a theocratic mass murderer. And when he chants ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel,’ he does so in front of mobs of people. He also refers to Israel as the little Satan and America is the great Satan,” Cruz said. “There is a reason the Ayatollah is developing ICBMs. ICBMs are intercontinental ballistic missiles. You don’t need an ICBM to bomb Israel. They’re bombing Israel with ballistic missiles. You need an ICBM to get to America.”

Cruz said the U.S. must stand with Israel.

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“I spoke to the president on Sunday and just told him, I said ‘Your leadership has been so critical on this.’ And he made clear [that] Iran is not getting a nuclear weapon, and he is standing with Israel. I believe our position should be [that] we stand unequivocally with the state of Israel,” Cruz told host Sean Hannity. “And I’ll make a point. Israel is doing an enormous favor to the United States right now. I believe the most acute, near-term security threat facing America is the threat of a nuclear Iran.”

Cruz said if Iran succeeds in acquiring nuclear weapons then it could lead to catastrophic consequences, with U.S. cities such as New York or Los Angeles potentially at risk.

“If Iran gets a nuclear weapon, I think the odds are unacceptably high that we would find out with a mushroom cloud over New York City or Los Angeles or Tel Aviv and Israel. And what Israel has said is we are going to act. Israel is a tiny country. It’s the size of the state of New Jersey. They are taking out Iran’s military with surgical precision. They’re taking out virtually all of the senior leaders of the military,” Cruz said. “I think President Trump is exactly right to say we stand with Israel. And I’m with the 75 percent of Americans that agree with the president’s strong stance to keep America safe.”

While Cruz has strongly supported President Donald Trump’s firm stance on Iran, a faction within the Republican Party opposes U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict. Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie introduced a bipartisan War Powers Resolution requiring congressional approval before any military action against Iran. Massie said Congress should make such decisions, not the executive branch alone.

“This is not our war. Even if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution,” Massie wrote on X.

Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul echoed this sentiment and said the U.S. should avoid entanglement in foreign conflicts as he cited past experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“It’s not the U.S.’s job to be involved in this war. Iraq was a mess, Afghanistan was a mess,” Paul said.