Daines on Fox Business: The Iranian Regime Won’t Win a Stare-Down With President Trump

• June 2, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Steve Daines today joined Stuart Varney on Fox Business to discuss the latest on the Iran war.

Watch the full interview HERE.

Daines on President Trump and Secretary Rubio's leadership:

Well, first of all, one of the best decisions President Trump made was to appoint Marco Rubio as Secretary of State. I think he's one of the best secretaries we've had in our nation's history. And Marco Rubio is not afraid to wade in to solve some of the toughest problems the world faces. And certainly, what's happening right now in Iran is one of those. President Trump and Marco Rubio are working to end a 47-year war that Iran has waged against the United States and the Western world. Let's not forget the primary destabilizing forces surrounding Israel and affecting the West are Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis, all funded by this Iranian regime. Iran sends Hezbollah a billion dollars a year, Hamas, over $100 million a year. The Houthis, millions of dollars a year. And they are all proxies of this Iranian regime. Imagine a world, Stuart, we could wake up to where the regime has changed in Iran because the people of Iran rise up and change it. An Iran that seeks peace, that wants to sign the Abraham Accords… It would be an absolute game changer for the Middle East. And I'm proud of President Trump. I think it's a lot of people who are working hard to solve perhaps one of the toughest problems we face on the planet.

Daines on the Iranian regime:

Well, the Iranians aren't winning. We are winning at the moment. But I would agree with the General in that they want to buy time. There's only one thing the Iranian regime respects, and that is strength. It is peace through strength. This is why you don't want to stare down President Trump and America because you're going to lose that stare down. And it's because of the incredible operation we've already accomplished with our U.S. military that's brought Iran to the negotiating table. But we need to finish the job. We need to get this done.

Daines on the end of the war:

It would be opening the Strait of Hormuz and a complete surrender by this regime. That would finish the job…

…That's something President Trump and Secretary Rubio are working on hard. They both want to see this finished as quickly as possible. So do the American people. We want to see this job finished as quickly as possible. I know he's working virtually 24-7 to solve perhaps one of the toughest problems on the planet.

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