The admission comes on the heels of a fiery exchange between the men, after Carlson lambastes Cruz for not knowing anything about “the country you seek to topple.” Carlson has been an outspoken critic of American involvement in the Middle East, tweeting last week that anyone calling for direct U.S. military involvement with Iran is a “warmonger.”
The clip released Tuesday night begins in the middle of a conversation about Cruz’s stance on the conflict between Israel and Iran, and Carlson questions if U.S. military involvement would be consistent with the “America First” promise of the MAGA movement.
“How many people live in Iran, by the way?” Carlson asks.
Cruz casually admits he “doesn’t know the population,” and Carlson is visibly surprised for a moment. The answer, Carlson says, is 92 million.
“How could you not know that?” he asks.
“I don’t sit around memorizing population tables,” Cruz responds.
“Well, it’s kind of relevant. Because you’re calling for the overthrow of the government,” Carlson says.
if i send this to you it's because i clocked you revealing state secrets pic.twitter.com/256TDhvz0A
— Ashley Reese (@offbeatorbit) June 18, 2025
Cruz quickly gets defensive, and the two men begin talking over each other as Cruz insists he knows things about Iran. Carlson begins to ask what Iran's ethnic mix is, and Cruz shakes his head quickly before answering, “Persians.”
“What percent?” Carlson interrupts.
“Okay, this is cute,” Cruz waves his hand in Carlson’s direction.
“You don’t know anything about Iran,” Carlson says, both of their voices rising at this point.
“Okay, I am not the Tucker Carlson expert on Iran, who says—” Cruz is cut off again by Carlson, who reminds him, no, you’re “a senator who's calling for the overthrow of the government and you don’t know anything about the country.”
“No, you don’t know anything about the country,” Cruz insists.
The Observer has a long, well-documented history of taking pleasure in anything that makes Ted Cruz look ridiculous, and this interview is undoubtedly some of the best content we’ve gotten in a while. Nothing wins an argument better than spitting back with “no YOU’RE the meanie.” We watched the clip, to this point, on about the same emotional level as a hockey fan who is sitting just off the ice as a fight involving their favorite player breaks out in front of them. Our bodies were pounding the proverbial glass as we screamed for more.
At this point, Cruz tries to compose himself and accuses Carlson of not believing that Iran is “trying to kill Donald Trump.” That is something Cruz evidently believes, although Carlson accuses him of using the stance for show. If he genuinely believed that, Carlson said, Cruz would be calling for military strikes on Iran in retaliation immediately.
“We are carrying out military strikes today,” Cruz says.
Now, this is news for anyone who doesn’t watch CNN at all hours of the day. Actually, this is news for anyone who does watch CNN at all hours of the day. The reason is that the United States has not officially declared military involvement in the conflict between Israel and Iran, although Trump has expressed solidarity with Israel in the matter.
Carlson, once again, is stunned and asks for clarification. Cruz says Israel’s actions are being done “with our help.”
“We’re supporting them,” Cruz says.
“Well, we’re breaking news here, because the U.S. government last night denied … on behalf of Trump, that we were acting on Israel’s behalf in any offensive capacity,” Carlson says.
Ted Cruz on Iran. Full interview tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/hJNwAHAnxZ
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 18, 2025
Cruz attempts to backtrack, saying that Israel is the one bombing Iran, and the United States is merely a supporter of that action.
“This is high stakes, you’re a senator,” Carlson says. “If you’re saying the United States government is at war with Iran right now, people are listening.”
Carlson’s social media says the full interview will be released today at noon. Perhaps for the first time ever, we will be tuning in.
