U.N. Amb. Mike Waltz says ‘Iran has been at war with us’ and ‘Trump is ending it’: Full interview

And joining me now is US Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz. Ambassador Waltz, welcome back to Meet the Press. >> Yeah, thank you. Good to be with you. >> It's good to have you here. Let me start off by asking you, it has now been one week since the United States and Israel attacked Iran. Is the United States at war with Iran? Well, I'll tell you the military objectives and achievements a week in uh are truly extraordinary as the president uh has effectively laid out. Uh Iran's air force destroyed. Uh Iran's air defenses destroyed and almost completely degraded. Its navy sunk, over 40 ships sitting uh at the bottom of the ocean. and importantly their ability to produce these ballistic missiles and these drones with which they've been terrorizing Israel, their neighbors in the Gulf, uh providing to Russia and using against Ukraine uh is also being severely degraded. So, uh, the military, our great Secretary of War Pete Hegsth, Secretary Rubio, and others, uh, are laying out the case in terms of how we are going to protect the American people and eliminate this threat once and for all. Kristen, I could tell you as a veteran, uh, you know, I can't it it it breaks my heart in so many ways that we have had to deal with this threat across the Middle East for 47 years. Uh, and I want to be clear, the Iranian regime started this war in 1979 under Jimmy Carter. And thank God for President Trump, he's taking the bold, decisive action that so many of his predecessors have failed to do to end it and to end this threat to the American people and our allies once and for all. >> And you just said there that Iran started this war. This is what President Trump has said about this conflict. We may have casualties. That often happens in war. We have unlimited middle and upper ammunition, which is really what we're using in this war. We're doing very well on uh on the war front to put it mildly. >> As you know, words matter. Does the Trump administration, do you describe this as a war against Iran? Well, I describe it as Iran's been at war with us, as I just said. >> So, it's a warly President Trump is President Trump is ending it. Look, I'll leave it uh to to the lawyers and those who deal with Congress in terms of the War Powers Act, which every administration has viewed as unconstitutional. That said, Secretary Rubio has been there uh day after day and week after week in the recent months to appropriately brief congressional leaders. Uh but I'll tell you who uh you know who does believe uh that they're being attacked. It's uh the soldiers uh that have been buried uh for many many years as a result of Iranian attacks and their proxy attacks. Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis and others in Beirut in 1983 and Iraq. Uh through those years over 600 American soldiers. So, I mean, we have to take a step back, Kirsten, and look at how many billions, how much time, how much treasure that administration after administration has has spent dealing with this. Uh, President Trump put diplomacy first both last year and this year. It was clear the Iranians were not negotiating in good faith, had no intention of backing away from its nuclear intentions. were trying to protect it with a massive fail and shield of uh ballistic missiles that they were quadrupling their production of on a month-by-month basis. And finally, President Trump said, "Enough is enough." >> Let me ask you about the endgame here. The president posted on Friday, quote, "There will be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender." Mr. Ambassador, what exactly does that mean? Well, I'll leave that to the president as commanderin-chief uh to determine what that ultimately looks like, but he's been very clear in no nuclear uh weapons program, no ballistic missiles that can deliver a nuke. uh no um you know massive shield with which they're going to hide behind of both short-range ballistic missiles, long range and drones that we're seeing them unleash uh on our neighbors and our allies and on the world right now. And enough is enough with this uh ongoing 47year support of terrorism all over the world as the world's largest uh uh sponsor of terrorists. So, you know, all of those objectives are being achieved. We're ahead of schedule. And what he ultimately wants is pretty much common sense as he said. Uh we have to have an Iranian government that no longer threatens the American people, threatens our allies, and threatens the world and holds the world's energy supplies hostage uh through both its missiles and its navy. >> There's a big question about what exactly it will take to achieve all of those goals. NBC News is reporting that President Trump has privately shown serious interest in US boots on the ground in Iran. Is the administration actively considering putting US boots on the ground in Iran? >> Well, I'm not going to get ahead of those conversations. I can tell you unlike his predecessors, uh both Obama and Biden, uh President Trump is never going to take options off his off the table. I'm a former special operator. we have uh troops and assets that are focused on seizing weapons of mass destruction if needed and if so ordered. But again, you know, I just go back to how consistent the president has been on this point in his campaigns in 2016, 2020, 2024, he has consistently said Iran can never have a nuke. He'll do what's necessary to make sure they don't. Uh, and I could tell you uh what the American people, my former constituents voted for was a president who means what he says, stands on his red lines, doesn't back away from him as his predecessors did, and never takes a bad deal that's going to keep the American people less safe in the long run. Ambassador Waltz, I have to ask you about this reporting on Friday that Russia is sharing intelligence with Iran to help target US assets in the region. Will there be consequences for Russia? >> Well, as as special envoy Witoff uh said uh last night on Air Force One, he sent a very strong message to Russia. I have no doubt uh President Trump will deal with it accordingly. Will there be consequences happening? And I don't want to get into it. I don't want to get into >> I don't want to get into intelligence, but I'll tell you what, Russia right now has just lost its main supplier of these one-way drones uh that they have been sending in night after night into Ukraine. They just lost their main supplier of uh ballistic missiles. Uh President Trump has taken incredibly decisive action in finally sanctioning uh both Ross Neft and Luke Oil, the main energy uh suppliers. That's a main form of revenue uh going into Russia. So no one can argue that he hasn't taken tough measures and will continue uh if he decides to do so as commander-in-chief. >> If Russia's giving Iran intelligence, do you effectively consider that Russia has entered this conflict? Well, we know that uh both Russia and Iran have had this symbiotic relationship uh number one. But number two, if they are providing anything, it certainly hasn't been very effective because the US military is decimating Iran's air force, air defenses, navy, ground forces, command and control. So, whatever they're providing, if they're providing anything, uh hasn't hasn't shown to help them very much. >> Two more and we have about a minute left. The Treasury Department announced it was easing oil sanctions on Russia, which will help Russia fund its war in Ukraine, as you know. Why is the Trump administration helping Russia in this moment? >> Oh, I wouldn't characterize it that way. I have to push back on that premise. and it's a 30-day it's a 30-day pause to allow which is just kind of common sense to allow the millions and millions of barrels of oil that are sitting out on ships to go to Indian refineries. I just laid out the tough actions the Trump administration has taken to reduce their revenue. But at the end of the day, this is going to be a a a temporary issue. This is going to be it looks like a a bit of shortterm uh pain for the long-term gain of Iran no longer being able to hold the world's energy supplies hostage. We have taken out that capability, but it also speaks to why President Trump's energy agenda has been so important. He calls it drill, baby drill. This is unleashing American oil and gas. We now have it coming in from Venezuela. we have other diversified supplies for both our European uh and our Asian uh uh allies. Uh at the end of the day, the world will be safer, stronger, and more prosperous uh because President Trump has taken this action. And our Gulf allies, I got to tell you, here at the UN are outraged and are going to take both military and diplomatic action in the coming days and weeks. uh this whole strategy of Iran shooting in all direction uh at our ne at their neighbors and at our allies is absolutely backfiring on them. >> Yeah. And just just to button it, I mean Russia will be getting that money as it wages this war in Ukraine. But let me just ask you this critical final question. More than 17 >> they're no longer getting drones or no longer getting ballistic missiles. Uh and at the end of the day he we're going to drive a deal to end that war. >> Okay. Let me ask you about this critical final issue. More than 170 people, including many children, were killed in a strike on a school in southern Iran last weekend. On Saturday, President Trump said he thinks Iran was behind the bombing. But NBC News and others are reporting that the military's preliminary finding is that it's increasingly likely that a US munition was responsible. Was Iran or the United States responsible? And will the US provide evidence to the American people? Well, here look, a couple of things here. One, well, let's let the investigation play out. Number two, again, as a veteran and special operator, we never deliberately attack civilians. Uh, if civilians were injured, it's always by accident. Contrast that. I mean, this is really rich coming from the Iranians, uh, who they and their proxies hide caches of weapons and military apparatus and hospitals and schools. We know they do that all over the world. And this is coming from a regime that literally has massacred its own people at an industrial scale. So I don't believe a word coming out of their mouth. Let the investigation play out. >> All right, Ambassador Waltz, thank you so very much. >> We thank you for watching and remember, stay updated on breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app or watch live on our YouTube channel.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz tells Meet the Press that President Trump will determine what “unconditional surrender” from Iran would look like to end the war.