Ted Cruz says the US is ‘winning the war’ with Iran right now, not losing it

Republican Senator Ted Cruz says the US is “undoubtedly winning the war” with Iran.

And the hotshot and three-term Texas senator tells Fox News Digital that, in his opinion, “President Donald Trump’s decision to launch this military action is the most important decision” of his presidency.

“If you look at the way our soldiers carried out this operation, it was an incredible success,” Cruz stressed in an interview this week.

But many Americans disagree with the senator’s reading of the month-long strikes by the US and Israel on Iran.

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Several new polls released this week, including a Fox News poll, show that most Americans give the military the thumbs down. But polls point to continuing wide divisions between Democrats and Republicans over the ongoing war in the volatile Middle East.

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A military attack by the US and Israel led to the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top officials, as well as the destruction of the country’s military.

But Iran retaliated by attacking Israel and many of its other neighbors in the region.

And Iran has targeted energy centers with missile and drone attacks in many Persian Gulf countries. It also made the Strait of Hormuz almost impassable to commercial shipping, halted nearly 20% of the world’s oil supply and sent fuel prices skyrocketing in the US and around the world.

Asked about the ongoing operation, Cruz highlighted, “We have taken out almost all of their air defense weapons. We have taken out their short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, their missiles, and their missile production capabilities. We have taken out their drone launchers, their drones and their drone production capabilities.”

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“We have carried out more than 9000 military strikes. We have sunk 140 of their ships. That is the biggest… sinking of military ships since the Second World War, and on top of that, we have taken out the Ayatollah and almost all the top military leaders. That is a deep victory,” the senator stressed.

Cruz noted that he “spent the whole day” with Trump the day before the strikes were launched, as the president traveled to Texas.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Republican Sen. Ted Cruz at a Whataburger restaurant in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Feb. 27, 2026. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

“The day before he launched this military action, I was on Air Force One with him. He was flying down to Texas, and then he and I were together in the Beast, the President’s limo, and we spent most of the day talking about, if he were to initiate this military action, or if he should negotiate further.”

Cruz recalled, “What I told him at the time was, I said, I don’t think I can negotiate anything. The Ayatollah is negotiating with the wrong faith and the regime was weaker than ever.”

The senator emphasized that “the Ayatollah and the mullahs of Iran have been fighting the United States for 47 years… Iran has been the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world.”

According to a Fox News poll, a third of voters nationally said US military action against Iran would make America safer, while 44% said it was less safe and nearly one in four (23%) said the strikes would make no difference.

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Cruz denies it.

“The president to end this regime has made America more secure, and that is his job as chief executive,” the senator stressed.