Sen. Ted Cruz sharply attacked commentator Tucker Carlson on Wednesday, accusing him of adopting extreme views amid an ongoing dispute over President Donald Trump’s rhetoric and the broader Iran conflict, turning into a “deranged, Leftist psycho” who “loves Sharia” law.

The clash intensified after a post circulated by Carlson’s media network on X stating, “Muslims love [Yoshka].”

Responding to that message, the Tucker Carlson Network added, “That’s why Donald Trump’s painting depicting himself as the Son of God offended the president of Iran. It was an attack on his religion as well as Christianity,” referencing controversy surrounding a recent post by Trump.

The uproar began after the president shared an AI-generated image on Truth Social that appeared to portray him as Jesus, following a disagreement with Pope Leo XIV regarding the war with Iran. The image drew criticism from some of Trump’s supporters, including Joe Rogan and Marjorie Taylor Greene, and was later removed.

Trump maintained that he viewed the image differently, saying he believed it depicted him as a doctor, and denied that its removal was due to backlash.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also weighed in, criticizing the post in a message on X. “His Holiness Pope Leo XIV … I condemn the insult to Your Excellency on behalf of the great nation of Iran, and declare that the desecration of Jesus, the prophet of peace and brotherhood, is not acceptable to any free person,” he said.

Cruz’s criticism of Carlson escalated in a separate social media post, where the Texas senator accused the commentator of going too far in his positions, calling him a “deranged, Leftist psycho” who “loves Sharia” law.

The dispute between the two figures is not new. Carlson has become increasingly critical of Trump since the outbreak of the Iran war, drawing repeated responses from Cruz.

After Carlson objected to Trump’s demand for Iran to accept an “unconditional surrender” last month, Cruz pushed back forcefully, saying the position was “to the left of [Sen.] Chris Murphy.”

“That is more anti-American rhetoric than anything I’ve ever heard Bernie Sanders say,” Cruz said on his podcast. “Tucker continues to go to new lows and new lows. The more Tucker Carlson attacks Donald Trump the more fringe he gets.”

Carlson has also faced criticism directly from Trump. In a recent podcast, Carlson accused the president of crossing a line in his rhetoric toward Iran.

“The message of all faith at the biggest picture level is the message in our Bible, which is you are not God. And only if you think you are, do you talk this way,” Carlson said. “But it’s not just mockery of Islam. And no president should mock Islam. That’s not your job. This is not a theocracy.”

Trump responded to Carlson in an interview, dismissing him outright. “Tucker’s a low IQ person that has absolutely no idea what’s going on,” the president said. “He calls me all the time; I don’t respond to his calls. I don’t deal with him. I like dealing with smart people, not fools.”