Transcript: Sen. Ted Cruz on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” March 1, 2026

The next is the transcript of the interview with Sen. Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on March 1, 2026.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who joins us from Austin. Good morning to you, Senator. I am glad we bought your audio working. You might be from Houston, I consider this morning. 

SENATOR TED CRUZ (R-TX): I’m. Good morning, Margaret. 

MARGARET BRENNAN: Good morning, I wish to ask you about Austin, although, as a result of there are reviews of three individuals useless, greater than a dozen injured following a mass capturing in that metropolis. The FBI is saying this morning that their Joint Terrorism Job Pressure has joined the investigation. Is there any nexus to terrorism or something that is happening in regard to the, the worldwide warning at this second? 

SEN. CRUZ: We, we do not know for positive that there are some early reviews that this capturing could also be related to terrorism, however we have to observe the proof and see, see particularly, what motivated the capturing. We’re definitely, Heidi and I, are praying for many who had been wounded and the households of those that had been killed, however, however at this level, we do not know what the proof will present when it comes to whether or not this was an act of terrorism.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We’ll proceed to observe these, these early reviews, however senator simply trying on the international atmosphere proper now, CENTCOM introduced three People had been killed and 5 severely wounded on this operation. President Trump and Presiden- Vice President Vance campaigned on not getting America concerned in new wars. What do you say to People this morning who’re asking why we’re on this battle now? 

SEN. CRUZ: President Trump’s resolution to launch this decisive motion in opposition to Iran is the one most necessary resolution of his presidency. I feel he laid out powerfully and successfully why he takes this motion. He takes this motion as a result of the federal government of Iran is a profound and malign affect. They’ve been the main state sponsor of terrorism for 47 years. They’ve, over that point, killed almost 1,000 People. They supply greater than 90% of the funding for Hamas. They supply greater than 90% of the funding for Hezbollah, the Iranian ayatollah was, till yesterday, actively making an attempt to homicide the President of the US Donald J. Trump. I spent your entire day with President Trump on Friday, proper earlier than he launched these assaults. He and I mentioned this at size on Friday. My counsel to him was that the Iranian regime has by no means been weaker, that it was teetering and now was the time. My recommendation was don’t miss this chance. I feel the president has acted boldly. He is acted decisively, and Iran now not being led by a theocratic, murderous dictator, that makes America a lot, a lot safer.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator, you aren’t going to search out lots of people in any means defending the supreme chief, that’s for positive. Nonetheless, placing People in hurt means is what I am urgent you on right here. Did the president clarify to you why he known as off lively diplomacy? As a result of at the exact same time he was on that airplane, the vice chairman of the US was speaking to the Omani mediator, who was making an attempt to get a deal and informed us that they had been shut to at least one. Why not select diplomacy?

SEN. CRUZ: As a result of the diplomacy was an abject failure. The Iranians approached the diplomacy with conceitedness, which with absolute hubris. They stated they’d not cease enriching. It doesn’t matter what they had been going to proceed to counterpoint uranium. They might not talk about zero enrichment. They claimed a proper to counterpoint uranium in underground bunkers with no supervision. As President Trump stated on Friday when he was with me in Texas, his line was zero enrichment, and the Iranians refused to debate it. Additionally they refused to debate their proxies. They refused to debate Hamas and Hezbollah and the Houthis. And President Trump understood that the Iranian quote negotiation was only a stall tactic, and that the one response- my recommendation to him, I stated, there’s just one deal you need to settle for. And it is the deal that you just supplied Maduro, which is if you wish to depart and flee the nation, you are able to do so. The rest is unacceptable. And, and Khamenei made his selection.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Effectively, there are disputes there when it comes to your characterization of what was really on the desk and what the administration had indicated it was keen to just accept when it comes to permitting enrichment for medical functions and the like, however, however that is now clearly done–

SEN. CRUZ: –So Margaret, what I simply informed you–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –Yeah–

SEN. CRUZ: –what I simply informed you is nearly phrase for phrase, what Secretary of State Marco Rubio informed me yesterday.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Are you able to inform us now should you consider that there was an ongoing nuclear weapons program? One of many prime arms control- arms management specialists on the market, David Albright, has written there ought to be a direct precedence on speedy response operations to safe Iran’s nuclear stockpiles proper now. Are you able to guarantee the general public that it will likely be secured, and in that case, who’s doing it if there are not any Israeli or U.S. forces on the bottom?

SEN. CRUZ: So there isn’t a doubt {that a} 12 months in the past, Iran had an lively and ongoing nuclear weapons program. We took out the overwhelming majority of that on the finish of the 12-Day Battle, the place Israel had taken out–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –That U.S. intelligence evaluation was not made public, if that’s what was briefed to you.

SEN. CRUZ: We took out- we launched focused bombs on the finish of the 12-Day Battle, the place we dropped the equal of a few third of a nuclear weapon on these underground amenities, amenities like Fordow, which was constructed into the bottom of a mountain. The bunker buster bombs we used, Israel does not have these bombs. No different nation has these bombs. We took them out final 12 months. The Iranians had been nonetheless hell bent on rebuilding them, and one of many issues we’re doing proper now’s taking out their missiles, particularly the southern missile belt. Proper now, Iran is constructing roughly 100 missiles a month. They’re actively constructing missiles to threaten their neighbors, and I’ll level out–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –They’re firing a few of them proper now at their neighbors.

SEN. CRUZ: Yeah.

MARGARET BRENNAN: At our allies.

SEN. CRUZ: They’re illustrating powerfully. They’re attacking nearly each Arab neighbor that surrounds them. They’re firing missiles that- it is nearly like they wish to illustrate to the world simply how malign they’re.

MARGARET BRENNAN: However when it comes to containing the danger, who’s securing the nuclear materials that you just say nonetheless exists inside Iran? Who’s doing that?

SEN. CRUZ: Look, the amount of nuclear materials I did not say one- something, a method or one other on that. What I stated is that they had been constructing nuclear weapons a 12 months in the past, and our bombing took that out. Additionally they had an ongoing want to rebuild them. I haven’t got current day intelligence on what progress that they had made in the direction of rebuilding nuclear weapons since we bombed their amenities. I’ve no indication that that they had been wherever near getting nuclear weapons as a result of our bombing was devastating. And Margaret, that is one of many causes I urged President Trump, now’s the time. You recognize, dictatorships survive as a result of they’re perceived as invulnerable. And on this occasion, Iran decisively misplaced the 12-Day Battle, that weakened the regime and arrange what the president is doing now.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Ted Cruz, we’ve to go away it there for as we speak. Thanks for becoming a member of us. 

SEN. CRUZ: Thanks. 

MARGARET BRENNAN: We’ll be proper again with much more Face the Nation. Stick with us.