Senator Bernie Sanders criticized U.S. President Donald Trump for the escalation of tensions between the U.S. and Iran, arguing that Trump’s actions have been like "setting fire to a basket full of paper and then putting it out."

Trump said Saturday that military action against Iran was still an option for its downing of an unmanned U.S. military aircraft, but amid heightened tensions he dangled the prospect of eventually becoming an unlikely “best friend” of America’s longtime Middle Eastern adversary.

Trump also said “we very much appreciate” that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard chose not to target a U.S. spy plane carrying more than 30 people.

>> Analysis: After calling off strike on Iran, Trump seems to prefer bloodless wars ■ Analysis: Aborted U.S. attack exposes fatal flaw in Netanyahu’s Iran strategy: Trump’s problematic personality

Bernie Sanders criticizes Pres. Trump's handling of Iran

"It's like somebody setting fire to a basket full of paper and then putting it out. He helped create the crisis, and then he stopped the attacks," Sanders, a leading candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination told Margaret Brennan on Saturday in an interview that will air on "Face the Nation" this Sunday.

"Oh, just a limited strike. Oh, well, I'm sorry. I just didn't know that it's okay to simply attack another country with bombs," Sanders said. "Just a limited strike? That's an act of warfare."