Sen. Ted Cruz is urging the Trump administration to abandon diplomatic efforts with Iran and instead intensify military and economic pressure, including providing weapons to anti-government demonstrators in an effort to bring about the collapse of the Islamic regime.

“I think our objective should be regime collapse,” Cruz said Friday on CBS News national security analyst Aaron MacLean’s “School of War” podcast.

The Texas Republican argued that the United States should continue targeting Iranian military assets, maintain strict economic sanctions, and preserve the blockade on Iranian ports aimed at limiting Tehran’s oil exports. Cruz noted that he first advocated arming Iranian protesters earlier this year.

“What I believe we should do, what I have urged President [Donald] Trump repeatedly, what I’ve urged Israel to do repeatedly, is arm the protesters, give them the guns, to let them overthrow their own government so that it’s not American boots on the ground, it’s Iranians fighting for their own country,” he said.

The current conflict began on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran. Since then, the confrontation has alternated between combat operations and diplomatic efforts, while instability in the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies normally pass.

In June, the two sides reached a memorandum of understanding intended to halt hostilities, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and pave the way for renewed nuclear negotiations. That agreement unraveled in July after fighting resumed and disagreements emerged over control of the strategic waterway.

Cruz sharply criticized the failed accord, calling it a “disaster” and a “terrible deal.” He argued that easing sanctions and creating a proposed $300 billion reconstruction fund would only strengthen the Iranian regime.

“You’ll forgive me if I’m not terribly eager to give them $300 billion to facilitate their carrying out their stated intent of murdering us,” Cruz said. “Giving them $300 billion is an exceptionally bad idea. It was a bad idea two months ago, it’s a bad idea today and it would be a bad idea two months from now. So I hope we don’t go down that road.”

The Trump administration has maintained that the proposed reconstruction funding would come voluntarily from Gulf nations and private investors rather than from the U.S. government.

Meanwhile, Iran and Oman are reportedly working on a temporary maritime arrangement that would allow vessels to enter the Persian Gulf through an Iranian-controlled route and depart through an Omani-controlled corridor without paying transit fees. Officials believe the proposal could serve as a stepping stone toward broader negotiations.

Although President Trump has recently moved away from earlier statements favoring regime change in Tehran, Cruz said he is unconcerned about which opposition group might ultimately replace the current leadership.

“I don’t have a dog whether it’s the son of the Shah, whether it is the [Mojahedin-e-Khalq opposition group], whether it is someone local, as long as they are not an Islamist who hates America and is actively trying to kill Americans,” Cruz said.

Cruz’s position underscores ongoing divisions within the Republican Party over U.S. policy toward Iran. While Vice President JD Vance has supported continued negotiations, other Republicans have argued against making concessions to Tehran.

Addressing those competing views, Cruz rejected both interventionism and isolationism.

“I disagree with both the interventionist and the isolationists. I think the interventionists are too quick to send the Marines. That’s their solution for everything,” he said. “But I am most definitely not an isolationist. It is a dangerous world, and it is our military’s job to prevent enemies of America from killing Americans.”