With military action against Iran entering its second week, one key question continues to loom over the conflict: will there be American boots on the ground? That question was front and center in our one-on-one interview with Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
When asked about concerns that sending troops into Iran could cross a red line for many Americans, Cruz downplayed the possibility of a prolonged ground war. “You know, I’m not concerned about that,” Senator Cruz told CBN News. “I do not believe there is any scenario in which President Trump puts ground troops for any extended period of time, in Iran. Iran is not Iraq. They are very different conflicts.”
Still, Cruz left open the possibility that limited ground involvement could occur if it were necessary for a specific mission. “So, the reason I’m not saying no ground troops under any circumstances is, is the president may well have an aspect of the mission that requires ground troops.”
What Cruz strongly opposes is a repeat of the long-term occupation that defined the Iraq War. “What’s not going to happen is what we did in Iraq, which is sending in hundreds of thousands of troops to be there for years and to try to run the country. I think that would be a serious mistake. I would oppose that. I’m not concerned about it, because I don’t think there’s any prospect that President Trump is interested in doing that or would do that.”
Another major issue looming over the conflict is what happens to Iran’s leadership if the current regime falls. Cruz believes the Iranian people — not the United States — should ultimately decide who leads their country.
“That can be messy,” Cruz admits. “I believe the people of Iran should decide who their next leader is. Our interest is simple: we don’t want a government that is trying to kill Americans.”
He also suggested that a dramatically different Iranian government could reshape the Middle East. “I think if we see a government in Iran that is a secular government that wants to be friends with America, I think that would be enormously beneficial for Iran and enormously beneficial for America.”
Cruz also believes Israel has the military capability to defeat Iran even without American involvement. “Yes, I do,” Senator Cruz told CBN News. “And you look at the 12-Day War. Israel completely decimated Iran and they did almost the entirety of that war on their own. You look at their, their bombing raids and I will tell you, the Mossad, their intelligence penetration is extraordinary.”
But while Iran remains a pressing concern overseas, Cruz says another battle is unfolding at home — within the Republican Party itself. “I have seen more antisemitism on the right than at any point in my life,” says Cruz. “It is dangerous and it risks consuming our party. I don’t want us to make the same mistake Democrat leaders made a decade ago of just to look the other way and to be silent.”
That concern has led Cruz to directly challenge one of the most influential voices on the political right: Tucker Carlson. Asked whether Republicans should speak out about Carlson — including Vice President J.D. Vance, who has a friendship with the former Fox News host — Cruz said the moment demands clarity. “Look, everyone’s going to have to decide where they stand. Ronald Reagan in 1964 gave a very famous speech, a time for choosing. And I think this is a time for choosing.”
Senator Cruz argues that Carlson’s rhetoric has specifically targeted evangelical Christians who support Israel. “The target of this operation is you and me. It is evangelical Christians. Tucker Carlson has said there is nobody he hates more on planet Earth than Christian Zionists and he names specifically me and Mike Huckabee. I think it’s unfortunate that I am the person he says he hates most on Earth. Now, why does he hate me? He hates me, number one, because I’m a Christian and that is my faith and I’m not going to run away from it or apologize for it. But he hates me number two, because I’m a Zionist.”
Cruz also criticized the rise of “replacement theology,” a belief held by some far-right voices that the church has replaced the Jewish people as God’s chosen people. “I think that is absolutely wrong,” Cruz tells CBN News. “If God breaks his promises to the people of Israel, that suggests that God could break his promises to Christians as well and I don’t believe God breaks his promises.”
The Texas senator also addressed the phrase “Christ is King,” which has become increasingly common in online political debates. According to Cruz, the phrase is sometimes used in a deeply antisemitic way.
“It is being used online in a way that is meant to say, ‘screw you, Jew.’ It is being used in a context very directly to say, ‘I hate Jews’ and that’s almost an online code word. ‘Christ is King’ is ‘I hate the Jews.'”
When asked why he believes that, Cruz pointed to the broader context in which the phrase is often used. “Because you see the people who are saying it and they’re saying it in that context,” Cruz explains. “They’re saying Jews are horrible, like they’re attacking Jews, and they end with ‘Christ is King’ to make it sound like somehow there’s a biblical basis for attacking Jews.”
Cruz says these ideas have begun to seep into parts of the church, making it essential for pastors and Christian leaders to address the issue directly — particularly with younger believers. Speaking directly to younger Christians, Cruz offered a blunt message about Israel and Zionism.
“Listen, you’re being lied to about Israel, those who attack Zionism. Zionism simply says Israel should exist. By the way, the modern state of Israel was created coming out of World War II, coming out of the Holocaust, coming out of 6 million Jews being massacred in concentration camps by the Nazis. And the phrase that came out of that was ‘Never again,’ that Israel would have a homeland. So never again would they face genocide. That, to me, is a very reasonable proposition.”
For Cruz, the issue is not just geopolitical but moral and spiritual. And it’s a fight he says he is not backing away from.
