MARGARET BRENNAN: That’s Charlie D’Agata reporting in Arad, Israel. We’re joined now by the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, and it’s good to have you here in person.
AMB. MIKE WALTZ: Thank you, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So Ambassador, on Friday, the president tweeted, “The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it — The United States does not!” And then last night he threatened that if Iran doesn’t fully open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours from the time of his post, the US will “hit and obliterate” their power plants, starting with the “biggest one first.” So which is it, is the U.S. opening Hormuz by force or having others do it.
AMB. WALTZ: Well, I think it can be both. It’s not necessarily mutually exclusive. I am glad you are having NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on. I think at his urging and his leadership, we have now seen Italy, Germany, France and a number of others commit to help with this effort.
MARGARET BRENNAN: –After combat operations end.
AMB. WALTZ: Particularly since, particularly since so much energy is going to Europe out of the strait. We just had the Japanese Prime Minister commit to portions of her navy and the Japanese navy, 80% of what is coming out of the Gulf is going to Asia. So we are seeing our allies come around as they should, but at the same time, the president is not going to stand for this regime, as it has threatened and tried for five decades to hold the world’s energy supplies hostage under its, its genocidal intent.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So some allies like the United Kingdom have talked about things like surveillance, anti-mining, anti-drone support for the United States. But in that appeal from the United States, I should say in the Strait of Hormuz, but not until active combat ends. To be clear, that is what we are talking about.
AMB. WALTZ: And the president has been clear too. He’s going to continue to pound Iran’s capabilities, its missile, its naval and its drone capability. Margaret, we have to take a step back. We have seen what it’s doing now in terms of attacking ports, airports, civilian infrastructure, hotels, resorts, and what it is trying to do to global energy supplies. One can only imagine if it had a nuclear umbrella. One could only imagine if Iran achieved its aim to test. Then you have Saudi Arabia wanting a nuclear program, then perhaps the UAE, Turkey or others. And when people ask why this matters to our security here at home, it should petrify every American that you could potentially have a nuclear Middle East awash in weapons.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, they are not enriching. They weren’t enriching leading up to this. This is what U.S. officials have testified to. But just on this point about what the president–
AMB. WALTZ: Well they couldn’t enrich because of Operation Midnight Hammer that obliterated their ability to enrich. They had every intent to continue.
MARGARET BRENNAN: They do have a nuclear power plant, Bushehr. It’s actually their largest energy plant. It’s a civilian site.
AMB. WALTZ: It is actually not their largest energy plant. It is about one, about one gigawatt. They have larger ones that are gas, fired outside of Tehran. But just case in point, yeah.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, but- but in this case, in that clarification, the reason I am asking you is when the president says he is going to bomb energy infrastructure, civilian energy infrastructure, is he going to bomb a nuclear power plant, or is that off the table.
AMB. WALTZ: Well, I would never take anything off the table for the president, certainly not on national television. However, there are larger plants. There is one outside of Tehran. There are others outside of other cities that are gas fired, thermal powered. I think the important point here is to understand the IRGC, a declared terrorist organization, not only by us–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah, in Europe too.
AMB. WALTZ: –but in a number of European countries, controls a huge swath of Iran’s critical infrastructure, their economy and certainly many of their governing institutions. And so to the extent we are degrading their military capability and their defense industrial base, all options should be on the table, and the president has made that very clear.
MARGARET BRENNAN: How do you ensure that this doesn’t constitute a war crime, which the UN Secretary General said an attack on energy infrastructure could be. How do you make sure this is not mass punishment for innocent civilians?
AMB. WALTZ: Well, I think you know, I would encourage and will encourage the Secretary General to point out the twenty to thirty thousand Iranians that the regime massacred at scale, the civilian infrastructure that they are attacking–
[CROSS-TALK STARTS]
MARGARET BRENNAN: –No one is endorsing that but how do you make sure this doesn’t hurt–
AMB. WALTZ: — And when you, but when have a regime that has its grips on so much critical infrastructure, that is using it to further not only the repression of its own people, to attack its neighbors, and in contravention of UN sanctions, to march towards a nuclear weapon, then that makes those legitimate targets.
[CROSS-TALK ENDS]
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, well, you know that in many of these places, water desalination is linked into that energy infrastructure, civilian infrastructure. This is why it is a question of it being a war crime.
AMB. WALTZ: I have no doubt that the president, the Pentagon, their team will ensure that what they target is geared towards the military infrastructure of Iran. But I have to tell you, they deliberately blend, have a long history, everything from hiding weapons under schools and hospitals to using power plants and other critical infrastructure to not only power their military but their civilian, and they deliberately blend in contravention of international law.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Let me ask you about what we saw overnight with these missile attacks. The Director of National Intelligence testified last week to Congress that Iran could not develop a militarily viable ICBM, intercontinental ballistic missile, before 2035 if it attempted to pursue that capability. Yesterday, the IDF said Israel said that Iran did fire an ICBM. Has this changed the U.S. assessment?
AMB. WALTZ: I am not familiar with the IDF assessment. I can tell you–
MARGARET BRENNAN: They said what was fired at Diego Garcia and them was an ICBM.
AMB. WALTZ: I can tell you the UK just condemned the firing of an intermediate range ballistic missile at Diego Garcia, that same type of missile Iran has lied about in terms of its development, said they were not developing yet. They just lied. Yet they just did it. Not only could it hit Diego Garcia, it could hit capitals in Europe. And Margaret, the technology, the booster technology that Iran has been hiding behind its space program. I don’t think we are going to see Iranian astronauts on the moon anytime soon. That this space program has been hiding that technology. You have the re-entry technology to marry the two really does not take very much in terms of technological development. And we just have to you know, thank God the president is taking action now and stopping this march towards a fully fledged nuclear program, instead of waiting until after it’s developed, like we saw in North Korea under the Clinton administration say, surprise, we now have, a full program.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So a difference there in the assessments. But let me ask you about our polling.
AMB. WALTZ: It wouldn’t be the first time you have different intelligence assessments, by the way, by different intelligence communities.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Absolutely. The administration has not convinced, we’ve seen it in our polling, the majority of Americans that this war was necessary. Sixty six percent of Americans believe conflict with Iran is a war of choice. Sixty percent disapprove of the US taking military action against Iran. Fifty seven percent of Americans think the conflict is going very or somewhat badly. How do you tell the American people they’re wrong?
AMB. WALTZ: Well, I can. I could quote a whole slew of polls that show, for example, self-described MAGA Republicans give the president a 100% percent approval rating–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –his base is in there, absolutely–
AMB. WALTZ: A majority say the number one job of the commander in chief is to keep Americans safe. I can point here to an NBC poll, 90% of Republicans, broader Republicans, support Trump’s effort to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities. And I have to point out, no one should be surprised here. President Trump has said Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon 2016 campaign, 2020 campaign. Since 2024 he has said it seventy four times out in the public space.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But if he is going to commit any kind of ground troops or boots on the ground. Don’t you think he needs to persuade the majority of American people, not just his base?
AMB. WALTZ: I think the president will keep all options on the table to secure these objectives. And as a veteran, as a parent, I thank God he is not kicking the can like so many administrations have for fifty years, until this is a catastrophic problem where we have very limited options to deal with, much less an entire Middle East potentially awash in nukes.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Ambassador Walz, thank you for your time this morning.
AMB. WALTZ: All right, thank you.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Face the Nation will be back in a minute, so stay with us.
Monica GodnickCBS News, “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan”Cel: 2407146938
From:
Godnick, Monica J
Sent: Sunday, March 22, 2026 1:29 PM
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Subject: WALZ RUSH TRANSCRIPT
MARGARET BRENNAN: That’s Charlie D’Agata reporting in Arad, Israel. We’re joined now by the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, and it’s good to have you here in person.
AMB. MIKE WALTZ: Thank you, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So Ambassador, on Friday, the president tweeted, “The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it — The United States does not!” And then last night he threatened that if Iran doesn’t fully open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours from the time of his post, the US will “hit and obliterate” their power plants, starting with the “biggest one first.” So which is it, is the U.S. opening Hormuz by force or having others do it.
AMB. WALTZ: Well, I think it can be both. It’s not necessarily mutually exclusive. I am glad you are having NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on. I think at his urging and his leadership, we have now seen Italy, Germany, France and a number of others commit to help with this effort.
MARGARET BRENNAN: –After combat operations end.
AMB. WALTZ: Particularly since, particularly since so much energy is going to Europe out of the strait. We just had the Japanese Prime Minister commit to portions of her navy and the Japanese navy, 80% of what is coming out of the Gulf is going to Asia. So we are seeing our allies come around as they should, but at the same time, the president is not going to stand for this regime, as it has threatened and tried for five decades to hold the world’s energy supplies hostage under its, its genocidal intent.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So some allies like the United Kingdom have talked about things like surveillance, anti-mining, anti-drone support for the United States. But in that appeal from the United States, I should say in the Strait of Hormuz, but not until active combat ends. To be clear, that is what we are talking about.
AMB. WALT: And the president has been clear too. He’s going to continue to pound Iran’s capabilities, its missile, its naval and its drone capability. Margaret, we have to take a step back. We have seen what it’s doing now in terms of attacking ports, airports, civilian infrastructure, hotels, resorts, and what it is trying to do to global energy supplies. One can only imagine if it had a nuclear umbrella. One could only imagine if Iran achieved its aim to test. Then you have Saudi Arabia wanting a nuclear program, then perhaps the UAE, Turkey or others. And when people ask why this matters to our security here at home, it should petrify every American that you could potentially have a nuclear Middle East awash in weapons.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, they are not enriching. They weren’t enriching leading up to this. This is what U.S. officials have testified to. But just on this point about what the president–
AMB. WALTZ: Well they couldn’t enrich because of Operation Midnight Hammer that obliterated their ability to enrich. They had every intent to continue.
MARGARET BRENNAN: They do have a nuclear power plant, Bushehr. It’s actually their largest energy plant. It’s a civilian site.
AMB. WALTZ: It is actually not their largest energy plant. It is about one, about one gigawatt. They have larger ones that are gas, fired outside of Tehran. But just case in point, yeah.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, but- but in this case, in that clarification, the reason I am asking you is when the president says he is going to bomb energy infrastructure, civilian energy infrastructure, is he going to bomb a nuclear power plant, or is that off the table.
AMB. WALTZ: Well, I would never take anything off the table for the president, certainly not on national television. However, there are larger plants. There is one outside of Tehran. There are others outside of other cities that are gas fired, thermal powered. I think the important point here is to understand the IRGC, a declared terrorist organization, not only by us–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah, in Europe too.
AMB. WALTZ: –but in a number of European countries, controls a huge swath of Iran’s critical infrastructure, their economy and certainly many of their governing institutions. And so to the extent we are degrading their military capability and their defense industrial base, all options should be on the table, and the president has made that very clear.
MARGARET BRENNAN: How do you ensure that this doesn’t constitute a war crime, which the UN Secretary General said an attack on energy infrastructure could be. How do you make sure this is not mass punishment for innocent civilians?
AMB. WALTZ: Well, I think you know, I would encourage and will encourage the Secretary General to point out the twenty to thirty thousand Iranians that the regime massacred at scale, the civilian infrastructure that they are attacking–
[CROSS-TALK STARTS]
MARGARET BRENNAN: –No one is endorsing that but how do you make sure this doesn’t hurt–
AMB. WALTZ: — And when you, but when have a regime that has its grips on so much critical infrastructure, that is using it to further not only the repression of its own people, to attack its neighbors, and in contravention of UN sanctions, to march towards a nuclear weapon, then that makes those legitimate targets.
[CROSS-TALK ENDS]
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, well, you know that in many of these places, water desalination is linked into that energy infrastructure, civilian infrastructure. This is why it is a question of it being a war crime.
AMB. WALTZ: I have no doubt that the president, the Pentagon, their team will ensure that what they target is geared towards the military infrastructure of Iran. But I have to tell you, they deliberately blend, have a long history, everything from hiding weapons under schools and hospitals to using power plants and other critical infrastructure to not only power their military but their civilian, and they deliberately blend in contravention of international law.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Let me ask you about what we saw overnight with these missile attacks. The Director of National Intelligence testified last week to Congress that Iran could not develop a militarily viable ICBM, intercontinental ballistic missile, before 2035 if it attempted to pursue that capability. Yesterday, the IDF said Israel said that Iran did fire an ICBM. Has this changed the U.S. assessment?
AMB. WALTZ: I am not familiar with the IDF assessment. I can tell you–
MARGARET BRENNAN: They said what was fired at Diego Garcia and them was an ICBM.
AMB. WALTZ: I can tell you the UK just condemned the firing of an intermediate range ballistic missile at Diego Garcia, that same type of missile Iran has lied about in terms of its development, said they were not developing yet. They just lied. Yet they just did it. Not only could it hit Diego Garcia, it could hit capitals in Europe. And Margaret, the technology, the booster technology that Iran has been hiding behind its space program. I don’t think we are going to see Iranian astronauts on the moon anytime soon. That this space program has been hiding that technology. You have the re-entry technology to marry the two really does not take very much in terms of technological development. And we just have to you know, thank God the president is taking action now and stopping this march towards a fully fledged nuclear program, instead of waiting until after it’s developed, like we saw in North Korea under the Clinton administration say, surprise, we now have, a full program.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So a difference there in the assessments. But let me ask you about our polling.
AMB. WALTZ: It wouldn’t be the first time you have different intelligence assessments, by the way, by different intelligence communities.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Absolutely. The administration has not convinced, we’ve seen it in our polling, the majority of Americans that this war was necessary. Sixty six percent of Americans believe conflict with Iran is a war of choice. Sixty percent disapprove of the US taking military action against Iran. Fifty seven percent of Americans think the conflict is going very or somewhat badly. How do you tell the American people they’re wrong?
AMB. WALTZ: Well, I can. I could quote a whole slew of polls that show, for example, self-described MAGA Republicans give the president a 100% percent approval rating–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –his base is in there, absolutely–
AMB. WALTZ: A majority say the number one job of the commander in chief is to keep Americans safe. I can point here to an NBC poll, 90% of Republicans, broader Republicans, support Trump’s effort to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities. And I have to point out, no one should be surprised here. President Trump has said Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon 2016 campaign, 2020 campaign. Since 2024 he has said it seventy four times out in the public space.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But if he is going to commit any kind of ground troops or boots on the ground. Don’t you think he needs to persuade the majority of American people, not just his base?
AMB. WALTZ: I think the president will keep all options on the table to secure these objectives. And as a veteran, as a parent, I thank God he is not kicking the can like so many administrations have for fifty years, until this is a catastrophic problem where we have very limited options to deal with, much less an entire Middle East potentially awash in nukes.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Ambassador Walz, thank you for your time this morning.
AMB. WALTZ: All right, thank you.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Face the Nation will be back in a minute, so stay with us.
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