Tucker Carlson presses Ted Cruz over Iran population: 'How could you not know that?'

Conservative pundit Tucker Carlson and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, of Texas, argued over foreign policy regarding the conflict between Iran and Israel on Tuesday.

The commentator unveiled a preview from an upcoming interview, set to air in full on Wednesday, where he presses Cruz on specifics regarding Iran and its population details.

Why are Ted Cruz and Tucker Carlson arguing?

Cruz made comments about regime change in Iran that put him at odds with other conservatives, including Carlson, who oppose efforts to topple the country’s leadership and have warned against President Donald Trump involving the U.S. in Israel’s air strikes on Iran, which began June 13.

Carlson, former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who sat near Trump in the VIP section at his military parade over the weekend, are among the MAGA stars pressing for the U.S. military to stay out of the fight, which they say is out of step with the movement's principles.

On Tuesday evening, Carlson teased their interview on his social media.

What did Tucker Carlson and Ted Cruz say to each other?

On Tuesday, the conservative media figure shared a preview of an upcoming interview in which he presses Cruz for specifics about Iran and its population. When Cruz is unable to provide the information, the host criticizes him sharply for lacking knowledge about “the country you seek to topple."

Here is how the exchange went:

“How many people live in Iran, by the way?” Carlson asked.

“I don’t know the population,” Cruz responded.

“At all?”

“No, I don’t know the population,” Cruz said.

“You don’t know the population in the country you seek to topple?” Carlson asked.

When Cruz turned the question around, Carlson didn’t hesitate: “92 million,” he replied, then followed up with a sharp rebuke—“How could you not know that?”

“I don’t sit around memorizing population tables,” Cruz rebutted.

The exchange became more intense as Carlson insisted that the figures were “kind of relevant because you’re calling for the overthrow of the government.” Cruz shot back, questioning the significance: “Why is it relevant whether it’s 90 million or 80 million or 100 million?” He then challenged Carlson’s implication that he lacked knowledge about the country in question.

The full interview between Tucker Carlson and Sen. Ted Cruz is set to air on Wednesday on his "The Tucker Carlson Show" on X.