Senator Ted Cruz appeared on  Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo to affirm his support for former President Donald Trump’s hardline stance against Iran’s nuclear ambitions .

Cruz labeled Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as “a theocratic lunatic” who “regularly chants ‘death to America, death to Israel.’” He reiterated Trump’s declaration from April 12, which set a 60-day ultimatum requiring Iran to completely dismantle its enrichment program—and underscored that failure to do so “would carry consequences” .

“On the 61st day, the Ayatollah publicly said he would not shut down a single centrifuge. He said he would build more centrifuges. He would make more enriched uranium,” Cruz said .

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Senator Cruz went on to praise recent strategic strikes by Israel—described as efforts aimed solely at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, not regime change or occupation:

“The job is to prevent Iran from being able to acquire nuclear weapons. It’s not conquering Iran. It’s not turning them into a democracy. It’s taking away their capacity to commit mass murder…” .

Cruz echoed Trump’s call for a zero-tolerance policy: no centrifuges, no enrichment.