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The following is the transcript of the interview with Sen. Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on March 1, 2026.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Imtiaz Tyab reporting from Muscat, Oman. We turn now to the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Arkansas Republican Tom Cotton, who joins us from Bentonville. Good morning to you, Senator.
SEN. TOM COTTON: Good morning, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The President of the United States warned the American public that there could be casualties, American casualties. Does that mean the U.S. is putting boots on the ground?
SEN. COTTON: No, Margaret, the president has been clear that what we should expect to see is an extended air and naval campaign that’s designed not only to continue to set back Iran’s nuclear ambitions, but most importantly, to destroy its vast missile arsenal. Many more missiles than the United States and Israel have air defenses combined, as well as the missile launchers and its missile manufacturing capability. Now obviously one risk of that kind of campaign is that an aircraft could be shot down, and the president would never leave a pilot behind. So no doubt we have combat search and rescue assets in the region that are prepared to go in and extract any downed pilot. But barring that kind of unusual circumstance, Margaret, the president has no plan for any kind of large scale ground force inside of Iran.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The New York Times is reporting that it was the CIA that provided the intelligence in regard to the exact location of the Supreme Leader and then he was subsequently killed. You’re smiling as I say that. Are you confirming that it is true that it is the United States that pinpointed his location leading to his death?
SEN. COTTON: No, Margaret, I can’t confirm anything about the intelligence that the United States intelligence community collects. I can tell you that, of course, we have exquisite intelligence collection methods, that the location and the intentions of the Supreme Leader and the other Ayatollahs in Iran, or for that matter, the leaders of other adversaries around the world, is obviously one of the highest priorities of our intelligence community. But clearly, this operation is driven by intelligence collected by Israel and the United States that has once again proven that our nations have capabilities that no other nation on earth has.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Indeed. There are questions, though, about what happens next. Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified to Congress last month and was asked specifically, what happens if Iran’s regime fails. Take a listen.
[ON TAPE]
DATE: JANUARY 28, 2026 SECRETARY RUBIO: So I don’t think anyone can give you a simple answer as to what happens next in Iran if the Supreme Leader and the regime were to fall, other than the hope that there would be some ability to have somebody within their systems that you could work towards a similar transition.
[END TAPE]
MARGARET BRENNAN: That was a month ago. We’re seeing some succession planning happening inside Iran. Is this a managed regime change here, or is the United States betting on regime collapse?
SEN. COTTON: Well, Margaret, first, I want to stress what happens next in the days ahead and probably the weeks ahead. Iran does have a vast missile arsenal, and that’s going to be the prior- prior- priority objective for this military campaign. It is destroying that arsenal that threatened American troops from bases as far flung as the Indian Ocean to Western Europe, and making sure Iran can’t rebuild it–
[CROSSTALK]
MARGARET BRENNAN: –Many of those are being fired right now–
SEN. COTTON: –As far as the future- well, but we’re stopping a lot of them from being fired before Iran can fire them. It’s much easier to kill the archer on the ground than it is to shoot his arrows out of the sky. As far as the long term future of Iran’s government, Secretary Rubio is right, I don’t think anyone can give you a simple answer. There’s probably a lot of jockeying inside of Iran right now, they have a very consultative, deliberative process to replace the Supreme Leader. There’s a reason why he didn’t want to have a clear succession plan in place. It’s hard to do that when the United States is pummeling their leadership every moment of the day. I’m sure, though, that there are also some supreme- or there are also some leaders inside of Iran who might be jockeying to audition for the role of Iran’s Delcy Rodriguez.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, but what you just described in terms of Delcy Rodriguez sounds like it is a managed transition, not regime change. Is that accurate?
SEN. COTTON: Margaret, again, as Secretary Rubio said, it’s not a simple answer–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –Right, but we’re in the middle of it now. So don’t you need an answer?
SEN. COTTON: –We’re going to continue to hit not just their military capabilities–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –At least an outcome, a goal?–
SEN. COTTON: –But we’re going to continue to hit their military capabilities, and we’re going to continue to hit their senior leadership, the ayatollahs, who have also been complicit in 47 years of heinous crimes, not only against Americans but against their own people. Again, there’s no simple answer for what’s going to come next. But as President Trump promised last month when the Iranian people were rising up against their own regime, help is on the way. Help has arrived.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, exactly. You’re talking about what comes next, but then you’re also telling me you don’t know what comes next. So do you believe that regime change is possible from air support alone? Has a leader of the opposition been identified? Is the opposition unified to deliver in a way that President Trump is calling on the people to do? Are we arming anyone to actually challenge the regime?
SEN. COTTON: Margaret, the opposition is 90 million Iranians who have suffered under the brutal Islamic Republic Revolutionary regime for the last 47 years.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes, and the president–
SEN. COTTON: –We’ve seen in recent months that there’s–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –called them to take over their government.
SEN. COTTON: And we would all celebrate if the Iranian people were able to rise up and reclaim their freedom and reclaim their destiny. And as the president said when he promised help is on the way, help has arrived. And that’s why you’ve already seen some protests out celebrating the death of the supreme leader, the man who has brutally repressed his own people for almost 40 years. Now, we can’t necessarily dictate what course that is going to take, but the help that the president promised is on the scene, and it’s going to continue to be on the scene for probably a few weeks, as we make sure that Iran’s military is no longer capable of threatening our own troops, our Arab friends in the region and Israel, and also repressing its own people.
MARGARET BRENNAN: This is a big gamble by the president. Before the strikes, according to CBS polling, 74% of Americans said that Trump would need approval from Congress for military action against Iran. He did not seek that. If this operation takes weeks, which is how you described it, do you believe the administration has effectively made its case to the American public to expect casualties to support this action?
SEN. COTTON: Margaret, I thought the president’s eight minute video yesterday was outstanding. It laid out Iran’s 47-year campaign of terror and revolutionary violence against the United States and our people and really, the civilized world. I’m sure the president will speak more in the coming days, will have briefings to Congress–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –47 years, he did not describe imminence or justify that in that video. Do you believe that the American public is owed something more than a Twitter video?
SEN. COTTON: Margaret, I think an eight minute address to the American people, whether the president posted on social media or whether it happens on your network, is in keeping with presidential custom of addressing the American people. Again, I’m sure that he’s going to be speaking more in coming days. The administration will be briefing Congress, and we’re going to have a vote in the Congress. The Democrats are forcing a vote–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –On the War Powers Act.
SEN. COTTON: I expect there’ll be overwhelming Republican support for our troops, for the, for our troops, and for the president’s decision to finally eliminate the threat of Iran. And I would invite Democrats in the Congress to join their Democratic colleagues like John Fetterman and Josh Gottheimer and Greg Landsman in supporting our troops, in finally putting America’s foot down against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Cotton, we appreciate you in your role in oversight of the Intelligence Committee, making the case for the administration. We have more questions, and we would love to put them to the administration as well. Thank you very much for your time this morning. Face the Nation will be back in one minute. Stay with us.
