U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz said Sunday that "all options should be on the table" as tensions escalate between the U.S. and Iran, including potential strikes on an Iranian nuclear power plants and other vital infrastructure.
"Well, I would never take anything off the table for the president, certainly not on national television," Waltz told CBS News' "Face the Nation."
"However, there are larger plants," he added. "There is one outside of Tehran. There are others outside of other cities that are gas-fired, thermal-powered."
He added that it's important to understand that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is a "declared terrorist organization, not only by us but in a number of European countries" and that it "controls a huge swath of Iran's critical infrastructure, their economy, and certainly many of their governing institutions.
"So to the extent we are degrading their military capability and their defense industrial base, all options should be on the table, and the president has made that very clear," Waltz said.
His comments came as President Donald Trump warned Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face potential U.S. military action, including strikes on key infrastructure.
Waltz said the administration is pursuing international coordination and military pressure.
"The president has been clear, too," he said. "He's going to continue to pound Iran's capabilities, its missiles, its naval [capabilities], and its drone capability."
Waltz pointed to growing support from U.S. allies, including European nations and Japan, to help secure global energy routes, while stressing that Washington won't tolerate threats to international shipping.
"At the same time, the president is not going to stand for this regime, as it has threatened and tried for five decades to hold the world's energy supplies hostage under its genocidal intent," Waltz said.
Pressed on whether targeting energy or nuclear-related infrastructure could raise concerns about civilian harm or violations of international law, Waltz said Iran's military and governing structures are deeply intertwined with its infrastructure.
"When you have a regime that has its grip on so much critical infrastructure, that is using it to further not only the repression of its own people, to attack its neighbors, and in contravention of U.N. sanctions, to march towards a nuclear weapon, then that makes those legitimate targets," Waltz said.
He also warned of broader risks if Iran develops nuclear capabilities, saying it could trigger proliferation across the Middle East.
"It should petrify every American that you could potentially have a nuclear Middle East awash in weapons," Waltz said.
He added that the administration is acting now to prevent that outcome rather than waiting until Iran reaches full nuclear capability.
"No one should be surprised here. President Trump has said Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon," Waltz said.
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