Texas Sen. Ted Cruz on shooting in Austin and Iran strike

(CBS, KYMA) - Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) spoke with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation Sunday about the shooting in Austin.

According to news outlets, three people are dead and 14 others were injured following a mass shooting at a bar in Austin. The shooting happened before 2 a.m. Central.

During the interview with Sen. Cruz, Brennan said the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force has joined the investigation, leading her to ask the senator if there's any nexus "to terrorism or anything that is going on in regard to the worldwide caution" at the moment, to which Cruz said:

"We don't know for sure that there are some early reports that this shooting may be connected to terrorism, but we need to follow the evidence and see, see in particular, what motivated the shooting. We are certainly, Heidi and I, are praying for those who were wounded and the families of those who were killed, but at this point, we don't know what the evidence will show in terms of whether this was an act of terrorism."

During the interview, Brennan and Cruz talked about the U.S. and Israel launching a strike against Iran.

According to President Donald Trump and Iranian media, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an attack earlier Saturday.

U.S. Central Command posted to X Sunday saying three U.S. service members were killed in Operation Epic Fury.

When asked why the U.S. is in the conflict with Iran now, Cruz said:

"President Trump's decision to launch this decisive action against Iran is the single most important decision of his presidency. I think he laid out powerfully and effectively why he is taking this action. He is taking this action because the government of Iran is a profound and malign influence. They have been the leading state sponsor of terrorism for 47 years. They have, over that time, killed nearly 1,000 Americans. They provide more than 90% of the funding for Hamas. They provide more than 90% of the funding for Hezbollah, the Iranian ayatollah was, until yesterday, actively trying to murder the President of the United States Donald J. Trump. I spent the entire day with President Trump on Friday, right before he launched these attacks. He and I discussed this at length on Friday. My counsel to him was that the Iranian regime has never been weaker, that it was teetering and now was the time. My advice was do not miss this opportunity. I think the president has acted boldly. He's acted decisively, and Iran no longer being led by a theocratic, murderous dictator, that makes America much, much safer."

To watch more of Brennan's interview with Cruz, click here.