On Tuesday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) warned that President Donald Trump’s decision to kill Iran’s Qasem Soleimani would take “diplomacy off the table” for likely a “lifetime.”

Paul said that killing the major general will lead to “escalation,” and he fears it will lead to “more killing.”

“I think what we’ve done is taken diplomacy off the table, and the only possibility now is military escalation. It’s unknown how much military escalation, but I think there will be an escalation,” Paul told Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom.”

“I hate this,” he added. “I hate that this is where we’re going. I’ve been someone who has been for engagement, but there was much less killing, there was much less violence after the Iran agreement. In fact, there was a lull and a period in which I think we were headed towards a much more stable situation with Iran, and now I think it’s gone, and I think it may be gone for a lifetime.”

Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent