In part, Senator Cotton said:

“I don't think war is ever inevitable, but I think the Iranians are going to have to wake up and take President Trump seriously. That graphic showed a lot of military firepower in the Middle East, and it's all pointed at Iran. As you said, it's not just about their nuclear program, it's about their large ballistic missile arsenal that targets not just Israel, but our troops in the region and our other friends and is growing in its length as well, and its support for terrorism, evacuating some of our diplomats from Lebanon is just a reminder.”

Brian Kilmeade: Senator Tom Cotton is the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and joins us now. Senator, is war inevitable?

Senator Cotton: I don't think war is ever inevitable, but I think the Iranians are going to have to wake up and take President Trump seriously. That graphic showed a lot of military firepower in the Middle East, and it's all pointed at Iran. As you said, it's not just about their nuclear program, it's about their large ballistic missile arsenal that targets not just Israel, but our troops in the region and our other friends and is growing in its length as well, and its support for terrorism, evacuating some of our diplomats from Lebanon is just a reminder.

Brian Kilmeade: Why aren’t we talking about that with in our talks in Oman? Why are we just talking about a nuclear program that we obliterated?

Senator Cotton: Well, we're telling them that they have to come to the table with some kind of offer about that. We don't have to make an offer; our offer can be you meet our demands or we bomb you. That's our offer and if they don't make a more serious offer about stopping their support for terrorism in places like Lebanon and their missile program, I think they're going to learn the hard way. 

Brian Kilmeade: Do you think the American people understand this has been coming on for 47 years? That this isn't today, that this is encompassing the Beirut bombing, the Cobalt Towers, when you were in the infantry fighting in Iraq, the killing of our guys amongst the militias. Do they do you think the American people know that?

Senator Cotton: Absolutely. There's no question. I hear it across Arkansas, and I think most Americans appreciate that Iran to this day chants death to America, and for 47 years, as you said, since they took our diplomats and their families hostage in 1979, they've been waging a low-grade war against the United States.

Brian Kilmeade: So, there's a praxis in Axios and the New York Times that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Caine was all in on Venezuela, not as optimistic about Iran. The president of the United States has pushed back on Truth Social. We could see the posting. ‘General Caine, like all of us, would like not to see war, but if a decision is made going against Iran and military, it is his opinion it will be something easily won. I'd rather have a deal, but if we don't have a deal, it'll be a very bad day for the country.’  What's going on? Is there a division within the administration where some don't want to see this conflict and some do?

Senator Cotton: Well, I think clearly there are some voices in the administration that are leaking to try to constrain the president's freedom of action. You don't get the same story printed in the Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Axios within a few days of each other without people leaking. I think they're trying to restrain the president from moving forward. But you saw what the president just said. Furthermore, of course, General Caine is going to brief the president on the potential risk of any military operations and this could be riskier than the raid to apprehend Nicholas Maduro or the strikes last June against Iran, but I have every confidence that General Caine has given the president the exact advice he needs, and the president means what he says. He's been saying it for 10 years. Iran needs to take it seriously.

Brian Kilmeade: What does that mission look like? Where are we targeting? We're not going to be on the ground.

Senator Cotton: No, I don't think the president has any plan to put American troops into the ground. But again, going back to that graphic, that is a major buildup of naval and air power. Iran still has hundreds of intermediate range ballistic missiles, thousands of short-range missiles and rockets, they have hundreds of launchers. That might be a good place to start because irrespective of their nuclear weapons program, which we blew up last summer, those missiles and those rockets can target American bases and our friends throughout the region. That's a key part of Iran's military power.

Brian Kilmeade: Will Israel be fighting with us?

Senator Cotton: I would imagine the United States and Israel would be fighting side by side against our common enemy. Remember, they call Israel the little Satan, they call us the great Satan.

Brian Kilmeade: And as somebody who fights in wars, would you vote for this one?

Senator Cotton: I would strongly support any effort to degrade Iran's military power if Iran is not willing to learn its lesson from last summer and come to the table about its ballistic missile program and its support for terrorism to say nothing about its nuclear weapons program.

Brian Kilmeade: Senator, if people want us to pivot to China, who doesn't? We can't do it with Iran being the menace in the Middle East.

Senator Cotton: Absolutely.

Brian Kilmeade: Senator Tom Cotton, always great. Thanks so much.

Senator Cotton: Thanks, Brian.