Fox News host Tucker Carlson criticized neoconservative “non-genius” war hawks as he made the case against war with Iran on Friday night’s edition of “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”

Referring to Thursday night’s drone strike that killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, the Fox News host warned that the “U.S. could be engaged in a conflict, a real conflict” with Iran by the next show airing, comparing the killing of the Quds general to Iranian forces killing “the chairman of our joint chiefs of staff.”

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“Would you consider it an act of war?” he asked. “You would. So what happened yesterday wasn’t just another symbolic bombing sortie, of the kind we’ve seen in Syria. It was a pivot point. Neocons in Washington understood that immediately.”

Saying that “has been the neocon objective all along,” Carlson quoted former National Security Advisor John Bolton’s Friday morning tweet hoping that the bombing was the “first step to regime change in Tehran.”

Congratulations to all involved in eliminating Qassem Soleimani. Long in the making, this was a decisive blow against Iran’s malign Quds Force activities worldwide. Hope this is the first step to regime change in Tehran. — John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) January 3, 2020



After playing media clips from President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who contended that the attack was carried out because of “threats that were located in the region,” Carlson laid out his case:

“‘Threats in the region,'” he said, mimicking Pompeo. “If you don’t live in Washington, here’s the translation. That would be in hostile middle eastern countries, places where American troops would never be in the first place, were it not for the insistent demands of non-geniuses like Max Boot and John Bolton. But never mind. No one in Washington is in the mood for big-picture questions right now, questions, the obvious ones, like: Is Iran really the greatest threat we face? And: who’s actually benefiting from this? And: why are we continuing to ignore the decline of our own country in favor of jumping into another quagmire, from which there’s no obvious exit? By the way, if we’re still in Afghanistan 19 sad years later, what makes us think there’s a quick way out of Iran?” (RELATED: ‘They Are Liars, And They Don’t Care About You’: Tucker Warns Of ‘Reckless And Incompetent’ Proponents Of War With Iran)

He continued, “Before we enter into a single new war, there’s a criterion that ought to be met. Our leaders should explain to us how that conflict will make the United States richer and more secure,” Carlson contended. “There are an awful lot of bad people in this world. We can’t kill them all. It’s not our job. Instead, our government exists to defend and promote the interests of American citizens. Period. That’s why we have a government. So, how has the killing of Soleimani done that? Maybe. No one in Washington has explained how.”