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United States Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz argued to Kristen Welker on Sunday that President Donald Trump has not started a war with Iran, but that he is merely finishing it.
Waltz was asked during NBC’s “Meet the Press” whether the US is indeed at war with Iran, suggesting the conflict actually began in 1979 under then-President Jimmy Carter.
Waltz had formerly been a national security advisor to the Trump administration, but was removed from the role on May 1, 2025, after reportedly coordinating with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu behind the president’s back on possible military options for Iran while Trump was still pursuing peaceful negotiation, followed by the SignalGate controversy.
Mike Waltz speaks during a television interview at the White House, on Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Alex Brandon)
Welker shared clips of Trump referring to his current military actions in Iran as a “war” and reiterated her question, noting, “As you know, words matter. Does that front administration, do you, describe this as a war against Iran?”
“Well, I describe it as Iran has been at war with us, as I just said,” Waltz replied.
He continued, arguing Trump is not starting a war, but “ending it.”
“President Trump is ending it,” he replied. “I will leave it 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 day after day and week after week in the recent months, to appropriately brief congressional leaders.”
UN Ambassador Mike Waltz argued that President Donald Trump is not starting a new war with Iran, but merely finishing one that began with the Islamic revolution in 1979. (The White House via X Account/Anadolu via Getty Images/Contributor/Getty Images)
He went on to pivot the conversation, saying, “I’ll tell you, you know, who does believe that they are being attacked. It is the soldiers that have been buried for many, many years as a result of Iranian attacks and the proxy attacks, Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and others in Beirut in 1983 and Iraq, through those years, over 600 American soldiers, so, I mean, we need to take a step back and look at how many billions, how much time, how much treasure that administration after administration has spent dealing with this.”
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NBC host Kristen Welker repeatedly pressed UN Ambassador Mike Waltz on whether President Donald Trump’s actions in Iran indeed constitute a war. (William B. Plowman/NBC)
“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,” he claimed. “We are trying to protect it with a massive phalanx and shield of ballistic missiles that they were quadrupling their production of on a month-by-month basis, and finally President Trump said enough is enough.”
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