In part, Senator Cotton said:

“Well, Dana, the more immediate question is Iranian military power. That's what they'd use to retaliate against our bases, against our Arab friends and against Israel. And that's the methodical campaign that the United States and Israel is conducting today. We have always said Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. They also can't be allowed to have a vast missile arsenal. And that's exactly what they have, thousands and thousands of missiles, much more than the United States and Israel have in missile defense combined. And it's much easier to kill the archer on the ground than it is to shoot his arrow out of the sky. So what the American people will see in the days ahead is going to be a methodical and systematic focus on Iran's missiles, its missile launchers, and ultimately its missile manufacturing capability, so they can't continue to threaten our troops and Israel and our other friends in the region. We don't know what the future will hold for the Iranian regime, but, as President Trump said, this is a chance for the Iranian people to rise up and to reclaim their freedom and to chart their own destiny after 47 years of violent oppression.”

Senator Cotton’s full interview may be found here and below.

Dana Bash: Joining me now is the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas. Thank you so much for being here, sir. I do want to start with what we're hearing from the Iranian officials who are left. One said that President Trump crossed a red line by killing Iran's supreme leader and that revenge is their duty. Another key Iranian leader vowed that they will stab America in the heart. We're already seeing Iran retaliate against countries in the region that host U.S. military bases. How worried should Americans be about this war expanding closer to home?

Senator Cotton: Well, Dana, I think you put it well. That's coming from the Iranian leaders who are left, because we have already killed the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, and dozens of other key Iranian leaders. This is the exact same kind of rhetoric that we heard from the supreme leader over the last couple of weeks on Twitter, and we have seen how that worked out for him. There's no doubt, though, that Iran is going to continue to target our bases in the region, our Arab friends, and Israel. That's why it was so vitally necessary that we put an end to Iran's 47-year campaign of terror and revolutionary violence once and for all. The red lines that have been crossed is Iran crossing the red lines of the civilized world, going back to the 1979 hostage crisis, the bombing in the Marine barracks in Beirut, the bombing of the Khobar Towers, killing and maiming thousands of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those are the red lines that have been crossed. President Trump has finally put his foot down and made it clear that we will no longer tolerate the revolutionary violence of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Dana Bash: Mr. Chairman, you say that they have -- that you put an end to it. No question that this leader who was -- did horrible things and some people under him are gone, and there's nobody in the Western world who's shedding tears about that. But the question is the people below them and whether or not you are confident, based on what you're seeing, that enough of the Iranian regime was taken out that there really can be a change in leadership. And then the next question is, how does that work?

Senator Cotton: Well, Dana, the more immediate question is Iranian military power. That's what they'd use to retaliate against our bases, against our Arab friends and against Israel. And that's the methodical campaign that the United States and Israel is conducting today. We have always said Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. They also can't be allowed to have a vast missile arsenal. And that's exactly what they have, thousands and thousands of missiles, much more than the United States and Israel have in missile defense combined. And it's much easier to kill the archer on the ground than it is to shoot his arrow out of the sky. So what the American people will see in the days ahead is going to be a methodical and systematic focus on Iran's missiles, its missile launchers, and ultimately its missile manufacturing capability, so they can't continue to threaten our troops and Israel and our other friends in the region. We don't know what the future will hold for the Iranian regime, but, as President Trump said, this is a chance for the Iranian people to rise up and to reclaim their freedom and to chart their own destiny after 47 years of violent oppression.

Dana Bash: Well, and that's really one of the key questions as well, is, with the president calling for the people of Iran to rise up, so is the prime minister of Israel, how realistic is that, given the fact that the Iranian people have no weapons, they barely even have Internet?

Senator Cotton: Well, Dana, we saw that the Iranian people hate the regime just last month. Starting in late December and into January, tens of thousands of people all across Iran were rising up in protest against their leadership. The only thing that stopped that is the supreme leader and the other ayatollahs cutting off all communication with the outside world and machine-gunning their own people. Tens of thousands were killed by the thugs that were running the Iranian security services. President Trump promised the Iranian people that help was on the way. Help has now arrived. And I would join President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu in encouraging the Iranian people to rise up and take their fate into their own hands. Help is here. We're going to continue to degrade the regime of the ayatollahs, to target their missiles, to target the security services like the Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Quds Force, the shock troops that have kept the ayatollahs in power. And I would suspect we will see more and more Iranians taking to the streets to try to take back their own destiny.

Dana Bash: And there is no concern, given the fact that you – that the U.S. has degraded a lot of the military in Iran and, as you say, will continue to do so, that those protesters will rise up, and because they're not armed and because there is still a regime in place, that they will not be put down and they will not be massacred the way they were before? Meaning, like, how much U.S. help is going to go in for them, beyond the degrading of the regime's military?

Senator Cotton: Well, Dana, of course, there's concern because you still have revolutionary Islam theocrats in charge of the government of Iran. But, as President Trump has said, help is on the way. And as we focus on Iran's missiles and their missile launchers and their missile manufacturing capability and on those pillars of regime power, we are going to hopefully degrade the regime's ability to oppress its own people, to kill them in the streets, to keep them inside their homes in fear and terror, as they have been for 47 years. And I also hope that we will begin to see some of those security services saying that it's not worth it anymore. We have seen what's happened to the supreme leader. We heard President Trump's call to lay down our arms and not fire on our brothers and sisters. I hope that that's the case. But this is a chance finally in 47 years for the people of Iran to rise up and try to take control and take back their own freedom, as we continue to degrade the regime that's been oppressing them for so long.

Dana Bash: In the president's video giving justification for U.S. military action in Iran, he said that Iran has been building missiles that could soon reach the American homeland. Sources familiar with that intelligence assessment and others told my colleagues that that assertion is not backed up by American intelligence. Have you, as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, seen anything that suggests that Iranian missiles could soon reach America or could have before the attacks?

Senator Cotton: Well, Dana, what we know they have is thousands of missiles that can hit not just our bases right across the Persian Gulf, but bases as far-flung as Western Europe and the Indian Ocean. We also know that Iran has a space launch program. I don't know about you Dana, but I haven't seen any Iranian astronauts in space lately.

Dana Bash: Yes, but he said American homeland.

Senator Cotton: But, Dana, a space launch program is very flimsy cover for an intercontinental missile program. It's the exact same technology to put something in space that you use to develop intercontinental missiles. And Iran's clearly had the ambition to do that for many years. This has been a gathering threat on the horizon. President Trump was right that it's absolutely vital and necessary now to address that threat before it fully materializes in the near future.

Dana Bash: One last question. A key part of President Trump's campaign, and included it in his inaugural address, was no more wars. And there are a number of Republicans who think that this is the opposite of what they voted for, that the president is breaking that promise. Tucker Carlson told ABC the president's decision to strike Iran is – quote --"absolutely disgusting and evil." What do you say to members of the MAGA base who say, this is not what we voted for?

Senator Cotton: Well, Dana, I've been on the campaign trail all across Arkansas for the last two days visiting with hundreds of Republicans. I haven't heard a single Arkansan express anything but unqualified support for President Trump and for his decision to finally put America's foot down and end 47 years of terror and revolutionary violence by the Islamic Republic against the United States and our citizens. And I suspect you'll see overwhelming support from elected Republicans in the Congress who are answerable to our voters in places like Arkansas and states all across the country when we're back in the Capitol later this week.

Dana Bash: Senator Tom Cotton, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, thank you so much for being here this morning. I appreciate it.

Senator Cotton: Thank you, Dana.