Former CIA head, Cruz trade jabs over killing of Iranian nuclear scientist: ‘You are unworthy to represent the good people of Texas’

Former CIA head John Brennan and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) traded jabs on Twitter on Friday over the killing of Iran’s top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. 

Fakhrizadeh was shot and killed by “armed terrorist elements” while in a vehicle in the town of Absard and died in the hospital after doctors were unable to save him, according to state media. Several Iranian officials blamed Israel for the killing on Friday, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to respond. 

Brennan, who served as CIA director from 2013 to 2017, tweeted on Friday that the killing was a “criminal act” and “highly reckless.” 

He added that Iran should wait for President-elect Joe Biden to be sworn in, saying it would be wise to “wait for the return of responsible American leadership” and to “resist the urge to respond against perceived culprits.” 

This was a criminal act & highly reckless. It risks lethal retaliation & a new round of regional conflict.
Iranian leaders would be wise to wait for the return of responsible American leadership on the global stage & to resist the urge to respond against perceived culprits. https://t.co/0uZhyBTM3S

— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) November 27, 2020

He added that the killing is a “flagrant violation of international law” and could “encourage more governments to carry out lethal attacks against foreign officials.” 

These assassinations are far different than strikes against terrorist leaders & operatives of groups like al-Qaida & Islamic State, which are not sovereign states. As illegitimate combatants under international law, they can be targeted in order to stop deadly terrorist attacks.

— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) November 27, 2020

Cruz then responded to Brennan, saying it is “bizarre to see a former head of the CIA consistently side with Iranian zealots who chant ‘Death to America.’ And reflexively condemn Israel. Does Joe Biden agree?” 

Brennan then responded, saying, “Your lawless attitude & simple-minded approach to serious national security matters demonstrate that you are unworthy to represent the good people of Texas.”  

It is typical for you to mischaracterize my comment. Your lawless attitude & simple-minded approach to serious national security matters demonstrate that you are unworthy to represent the good people of Texas. https://t.co/93WwclgAtS

— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) November 27, 2020

The former CIA head then followed up with a series of jabs at Cruz, calling him a “poor Senator and a bad lawyer.” 

“My commitment to Israel’s security & my efforts to counter Iran’s malign activities are well documented throughout my 33 years of national security work serving Republican & Democratic Administrations,” he said.

“Aside from his tiresome rhetoric, what has Senator Cruz ever done?” he added.

.@tedcruz is now misrepresenting the Logan Act. Apparently, he is a poor Senator & a bad lawyer. A private citizen publicly criticizing what could be a state-sponsored assassination of a government official & cautioning against retaliatory killing is called freedom of speech.

— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) November 28, 2020

My commitment to Israel’s security & my efforts to counter Iran’s malign activities are well documented throughout my 33 years of national security work serving Republican & Democratic Administrations.

Aside from his tiresome rhetoric, what has Senator Cruz ever done?

— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) November 28, 2020

Cruz responded on Saturday afternoon. 

“Gosh, I touched a nerve. Facts matter,” he tweeted. “FACT 1: you’ve admitted, in 1976 you voted for the Communist candidate for President because, I guess, Jimmy Carter wasn’t liberal enough for you.” 

“FACT 2: you gave $150 Bn to Ayatollah Khamenei, knowing it would be used to kill Americans,” he added. 

Gosh, I touched a nerve.
Facts matter.

FACT 1: you’ve admitted, in 1976 you voted for the Communist candidate for President because, I guess, Jimmy Carter wasn’t liberal enough for you.

FACT 2: you gave $150 Bn to Ayatollah Khamenei, knowing it would be used to kill Americans. https://t.co/zKYGTaqov0

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 28, 2020

The New York Times reported on Friday that Fakhrizadeh was believed to be leading Iran’s nuclear program for two decades and kept working after the military effort quietly ended in the early 2000s.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday that his first priority was the “definitive punishment of the perpetrators and those who ordered it,” The Associated Press reported. 

The alleged assassination comes toward the end of President Trump’s time in office, as he was recently dissuaded from striking the nation to halt its military program. It could also make it more difficult for Biden to reenter the Iran nuclear deal, which Trump withdrew from two years ago.