Cruz: We Should Arm Kurds to ‘Collapse’ Iran’s Regime, Don’t Care if Turkey Doesn’t Like It
Ian Hanchett 8 Aug 2026
On Friday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “The Story,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) argued the U.S. should pursue “regime collapse” in Iran by arming protesters in the country, including the Kurds, and said that “I don’t care that Erdogan in Turkey doesn’t like it. It is in our interest not to have a theocratic lunatic leading Iran, who is actively trying to, and, tragically, succeeding in killing Americans, and so, I think we ought to go down that road.”
Cruz began by saying, “I think the president has had extraordinary leadership standing up to the threat of Iran. The ayatollah and the Islamic regime there have been waging war with the United States for 47 continuous years. They have been the world’s number one leading funder of terrorism across the globe. They have killed nearly a thousand Americans. And the ayatollah, twice, hired hitmen to try to murder President Trump. And so, President Trump, earlier this year, acted decisively as commander-in-chief to take out their military capacity and to prevent them from acquiring a nuclear weapon. I think he was exactly right to do so. In my view, the objective here should be regime collapse.”
He added that “what I have urged from the beginning of this conflict is for us to arm the Iranian protesters. Look, President Trump is not going to send American boots on the ground. We should not have American soldiers in harm’s way in Iran. But the protesters, there are millions of protesters there that are living under this Islamic tyranny, this forced Sharia law, and they want to be free. We saw, at the beginning of this conflict, between 10,000 and 40,000 protesters murdered by the regime. It’s not fair to expect protesters with rocks to stand up to soldiers with machine guns. If we’d armed the protesters, the Iranians could be in charge of determining their own future, instead of American soldiers in harm’s way.”
Cruz further stated that “there were early discussions, earlier this year, in the administration, about arming the protesters, in particular, arming the Kurds, who have been a very loyal American ally in multiple conflicts. The public reporting was that that idea was killed because Erdogan in Turkey didn’t like it. Well, look, at the end of the day, I don’t care that Erdogan in Turkey doesn’t like it. It is in our interest not to have a theocratic lunatic leading Iran, who is actively trying to, and, tragically, succeeding in killing Americans, and so, I think we ought to go down that road.”
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2026/08/08/cruz-we-should-arm-kurds-to-collapse-irans-regime-dont-care-if-turkey-doesnt-like-it/
Cruz: Trump Avoided Naming Iran Regime Collapse as Objective Because ‘Phrase Regime Change Is Radioactive’
On Friday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “The Story,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said that the Trump administration has stopped short of naming collapsing the regime in Iran as an objective, and “I think that’s because, after the Iraq War, the phrase regime change is radioactive.”
After Cruz advocated for arming the Iranian protesters to pursue the collapse of the Iranian regime, host Martha MacCallum asked, “So, how would you go down that road? We haven’t heard much about that since, in the early days — as you just pointed out — there was this push, that looked like regime change was what was going to happen, and we know Israel said they wanted to, essentially, undermine the regime until it collapsed of its own weight. That’s not where we seem to be right now. So, what’s a practical way to arm the people of Iran against their government? It feels like that moment has passed.”
Cruz answered, “Well, we have the capacity to do that. The CIA has done that in other conflicts, where we’ve armed rebels standing up against enemies of America. We have the capacity to get those weapons — and you’re talking small arms. You’re not talking tanks and bazookas, but the ability to fight back against the IRGC. We have that capability. What hasn’t happened yet is making the decision to use that capability. And, listen, I think the Trump administration articulated military objectives, but they held short of saying the objective was regime collapse. And I think that’s because, after the Iraq War, the phrase regime change is radioactive. I understand that. I thought the Iraq War was a mistake. I opposed the Iraq War. President Trump opposed the Iraq War.”
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2026/08/08/cruz-trump-avoided-naming-iran-regime-collapse-as-objective-because-phrase-regime-change-is-radioactive/
