EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Roger Wicker on "Fruitless" Iran Negotiations

Summary

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Podcast Summary

Brian Kilmeade Show

Episode: EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Roger Wicker on "Fruitless" Iran Negotiations
Date: June 4, 2026

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Overview

In this episode, Brian Kilmeade interviews Senator Roger Wicker in the midst of a consequential week on Capitol Hill. The discussion focuses on the ongoing challenges of US-Iran diplomacy, the state of military readiness, shifts in modern warfare, and the implications for US alliances and defense policy. Senator Wicker also addresses internal US political matters, including defense industry reform, intelligence appointments, and homeland security funding.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Assessment of US-Iran Negotiations and Military Action

• Stance on President’s Iran Policy:
  • Senator Wicker supports the President's decision to move from negotiations to kinetic action against Iran, particularly following attacks on nuclear facilities.
  • He expresses skepticism about the efficacy of negotiations with Iran, citing decades of Iranian duplicity.
  • Quote:

    “I don't think anybody that's really looking at it fairly could blame the President for giving up on negotiations and returning to kinetic action based on everything we've seen.” — Sen. Roger Wicker (00:31)

  • The Senator suggests the President may be considering a more comprehensive military campaign:

    “...possibly he's entertaining in his mind whether we should just go back and finish the job and totally obliterate their military forces there in Iran.” — Sen. Wicker (01:17)

2. Munitions, Military Readiness, and the ‘Ceasefire’

• Current State:
  • Senator Wicker reassures that US munitions and armaments are in good shape.
  • The supposed ceasefire is described as “not the kind historians would call a ceasefire,” citing continued Iranian aggression (e.g., missile attacks targeting US forces in Kuwait and Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel).
  • Quote:

    “We are fully capable of doing what the President decides he needs to do... Supposedly in a ceasefire and yet...Iran is sending ballistic missiles to target American forces in Kuwait.” — Sen. Wicker (01:54, 02:29)

3. Evolution of Modern Warfare

• Impact of the Ukraine Conflict:
  • Senator Wicker points to Ukraine as a real-time laboratory for new forms of warfare—particularly the use of drones and missile defense systems like THAAD and Patriot, which are being tested and sometimes overwhelmed.
  • The necessity for the US to adapt and reform procurement is underscored, with emphasis on the inclusion of agile startup defense companies through his ‘Forged Act’ in the NDAA.
  • Quote:

    “We realized that we need to change the way we do business and...that's why we put so much of my forged act in last year's National Defense Authorization act...” — Sen. Wicker (03:39)

  • Commends Ukrainian resolve and adaptability:

    “Ukraine has now become the most powerful army in Europe because they've had to and they've had the resolve to do it.” — Sen. Wicker (04:28)

• Supplying Ukraine:
  • US aid is multifaceted—not just through direct transfer of systems like the Patriot, but also by funding Ukrainian purchases from NATO partners.
  • Wicker notes sending Patriot systems is a “calculation for the President,” but the US is providing significant help in other forms. (05:29–06:17)

4. Defense Industry Reform

• Shift from the “Big Four”:
  • Highlights a shift away from reliance on traditional large defense contractors (historically consolidated under Bill Clinton) toward more agile, competing startups like Anduril, Zone 5, Lidos, and Palantir.
  • Quote:

    “We don't need to be spending half a million dollars to shoot something down that costs $30,000... It's a new day in warfare and it favors those that are nimble.” — Sen. Wicker (06:53)

• Broader Political Implications:
  • Wicker distinguishes between the Russian and Iranian regimes’ sensitivity to public opinion, expressing hope that Iranian popular will could someday effect regime change.

    “If the Iranian people found a way... Iran could be one of the more modern countries... but they don't have the weapons and the guns just yet.” — Sen. Wicker (08:23)

5. US Alliances and Gulf States

• Iran's Regional Strategy:
  • As Iran attacks US-aligned Gulf states, those allies are becoming more skeptical of the US’s ability to neutralize Iran’s capabilities.
  • Wicker advocates for decisive military action to pave the way for deeper Arab-Israeli cooperation—specifically, encouraging Saudi Arabia’s leadership in the Abraham Accords.

    “Get back to [a] full scale attack on...the military capability of this outlaw regime... then... have Saudi Arabia lead the region in joining... the Abraham Accord.” — Sen. Wicker (09:52)

6. US Domestic Defense Policy

• Intelligence Appointments:
  • On Bill Pulte’s appointment as acting DNI, Wicker doesn’t offer an opinion, citing lack of familiarity and noting it won’t go before Senate confirmation. (11:41)
• Homeland Security Funding:
  • Senator Wicker emphasizes the need to reopen DHS and laments the complexity of the legislative process, especially with other spending being tied together in reconciliation.
  • Quote:

    “We very much need... to get the Department of Homeland Security open. It's a shame that we have to do it in this unusual reconciliation way.” — Sen. Wicker (12:40)

  • He stresses the urgency, citing the World Cup and approaching Olympics as reasons for concern. (13:45)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Iran:

  “I think the President has been very, very patient, really. He's had the patience of Job in terms of dealing with people who are highly unreliable, who have lied every day for really 47 years.” — Sen. Wicker (00:46)

• On US Readiness:

  “We are fully capable of doing what the President decides he needs to do if he finally concludes that these talks are going nowhere.” — Sen. Wicker (02:04)

• On the Evolution of Warfare:

  “It's a new day in warfare and it favors those that are nimble. But also, it favors a country who has resolve.” — Sen. Wicker (07:17)

• On Ukraine:

  “This is a study in warfare that they'll be talking about not just for decades, but for centuries, the way Ukraine has rallied together and gotten their industrial base together.” — Sen. Wicker (04:51)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction & context: 00:00–00:31
• Iran Negotiations & Kinetic Action: 00:31–01:43
• Military Readiness & State of Ceasefire: 01:43–03:12
• Modern Warfare & Ukraine Lessons: 03:12–05:29
• Defense Industry Reform: 06:17–08:37
• Gulf States & Abraham Accords: 08:51–10:48
• DNI Appointment Discussion: 11:27–12:28
• DHS Funding, Procedure, and Urgency: 12:28–13:45

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Overall Tone

Senator Wicker’s tone is pragmatic, steady, and supportive of decisive action, both militarily and in policymaking. He balances critique of current US negotiation efforts with measured confidence in the country's capabilities and urgency around both international and domestic security challenges. Kilmeade maintains a probing yet affirmative role, emphasizing the stakes of the moment and soliciting Wicker’s insider perspective on major flashpoints.

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Transcript

[A]

So I want to bring in Senator Roger Wicker right now who's got his hands full. It's very consequential week on Capitol Hill. Senator, welcome to Brian Kilmeicho.

[B]

Hey, Brian, thanks for having me on. It's good to hear you.

[A]

Same here. I appreciate it. And so there's a lot of interplay. Yesterday, Marco Rubio and the day before, first in front of the Senate, then in front of the House, had to deal with a lot of antics and a lot of hostility towards the Iran war. Senator, where do you stand about this conflict? Now we're in the eighth week of a two week pause. Where does Senator Roger Wicker stand?

[B]

Well, I supported the President when he bombed the nuclear facilities months ago. And I very much appreciated and supported publicly when he went in and decided finally we needed to take kinetic action. I think the President has been very, very patient, really. He's had the patience of job in terms of dealing with people who are highly unreliable, who have lied every day for really 47 years. And I don't think anybody that's really looking at it fairly could blame the President for giving up on negotiations and returning to the kinetic action based on everything that we've seen. So I've been supportive of the President and he's been great to talk to us. But I do think that possibly he's entertaining in his mind whether we should just go back and finish the job and totally obliterate their military forces there in Iran.

[A]

So on armed services, you can only tell me so much. But for the audience, Senator Wicker, how are we doing with armaments? How are we doing with munitions? And is that part of the reason the President's holding off?

[B]

Well, it's something that we have to be careful about, but we are in good shape with munition and armaments. Clearly, every time we decide to take an action that has to be factored in. And I think the President is doing that and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. But we are fully capable of doing what the President decides he needs to do if he finally concludes that that these talks are going nowhere. I mean, if you think about it, we are supposedly in a ceasefire and yet even day before yesterday, Iran is sending ballistic missiles to target American forces in Kuwait. The Iran backed Hezbollah is intent on killing Israelis. So it doesn't look like it's not the kind ceasefire that I think historians would have said is a ceasefire historically. There is a lot of attempted death and destruction going on right now.

[A]

Well, we're watching in real time. They say the University of War is happening in Ukraine and the use of drones in real time. The Thaad missile system, which is awesome, and the Patriot missile system, which is great. They say it's being overwhelmed by cheap drones. And even though you can only stop a missile with that. Are we watching a changing warfare? And do you think the needs of the Pentagon has changed in real time, Senator, over the last 18 months?

[B]

Well, I think maybe the last 18 months has accelerated that, but we realized that we need to change the way we do business and the way we acquire weapons and missiles and defensive armaments. And that's why we put so much of my forged act in last year's National Defense Authorization act, the NDAA as we call it in shorthand. So we are absolutely utilizing 5, 6, 7 new startup defense companies who are agile, who can do it quickly, and who are learning from our allies in Ukraine how to do things quickly and less expensively. And that is, that's going to be a major part of the face of warfare from now on. Also, I just have to commend the patriotic people of Ukraine for fighting for their own country. We all thought Russia would overwhelm them in a day or two or a week or so. And actually Ukraine has now become the most powerful army in Europe because they've had to and they've had the resolve to do it. So this is a study in warfare that they'll be talking about not just for decades, but for centuries, the way Ukraine has rallied together and gotten their industrial base together. And of course we have learned, we've learned a lot from them.

[A]

We have. And they're asking for patriots. Do we have them to give them?

[B]

We've got some. We don't. Yes, we could do that to a certain extent, but. And that's a calculation the President has to make. But there are so many other things that could be used. Also, our delivery of patriots is not the end all and the be all. There are a number of ways we can help them. And of course, you know, we've been helping them with funds so that they could purchase armaments from their neighboring NATO friends. So their help is getting through and I hope some more will.

[A]

So I think it's very important what you brought up that we're no longer depending on the big four companies. Anduril, Zone 5, Lidos, Coaspire. We watch Joe Lonsdale's group, we're Palantir, of course. So you've immediately interact. You basically broadened it out. So we have other, other companies we could go to, to Maybe have these companies compete with each other. I know, I guess historically Bill Clinton decided, told everyone to, to coalesce and come together and make it easier. And what it did is it wiped out competition in a sense of deadline. And that hurt us, didn't it?

[B]

Well, there's no question about it. Yes, it's been an amazing turnaround. And also they've shown they could do it quickly and adapt quickly at lower cost. And yes, I mean, you're absolutely correct. We don't need to be spending half a million dollars to shoot something down that costs 30,000 or to that scale. It's a new day in warfare and it favors those that are nimble. But also, I tell you, it favors a country who has resolve. I honestly think, I think the Russians against Ukraine are losing their resolve. And I think public opinion, to the extent that Putin pays attention to it, public opinion is turning against him. Now, of course, the ayatollahs in Iran and their heirs are not paying attention to the people because the folks there really frankly don't have the wherewithal to rise up and overturn this oppressive regime. If the Iranian people found a way to do so, it would and actually represented the mainstream of opinion there. Iran could be one of the more modern countries in that section of the world, but they don't have the weapons and the guns just yet.

[C]

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[A]

Senator Roger Wicker, our guest. So Senator, what have we done to help the Gulf states defend themselves? Should we go back to warfare? Evidently, obviously Iran thinks the best strategy is to hurt our allies and try to break them away from us and Kuwait. Having 65 hurt two days ago is not going to help.

[B]

And Saudi Arabia pushing US ballistic missile attacks toward Kuwait and we're doing our best to intercept them. You know, it seems to me, Brian, that our Gulf allies were more supportive later on. And as the talks wear on and we don't seem to be making any progress, I think our Gulf allies are beginning to think that they just need to get the best deal possible because we're not going to be able to actually end Iran's capability. My view on the other hand, would be get back to full scale attack on taking down the military capability of this outlaw regime. And then I think it's a lot more inviting to have Saudi Arabia lead the region in joining full fledged the Abraham Accord and Moving into the 21st century, 26 years too late, but that's what we need to do. And Saudi needs to take the lead there. But to me, the length of time that we bent over backwards with these fruitless negotiations, I would just understand fully if the president decided enough is enough.

[A]

Good. You have a lot of power Senate, long enough. And Senator, for Roger Wicker to come out and say that, I think that would mean a lot because it's hard to people to say, well, he just does whatever Trump wants. No one, no one thinks that about you. He goes, you've been there before and

[B]

we'll be there working. Thank you for saying that. We've been working shoulder to shoulder with President Trump and Secretary Exit and yes, as a team and I appreciate that. And so there's discussions on both sides of the issue. Pros and cons are very much a part of it.

[A]

So Senator, I just want to get you yesterday it was announced that Bill Pulte is going to be the acting dni. And a lot of people are upset by that because he seems to have absolutely no experience. Are you somebody that would have trouble with that and would hope the president rethinks it or whatever?

[B]

Well, first of all, this is an acting position and it will not come before the Senate for confirmation. I don't know the individual. And so my default position is at first blush to trust the judgment of the president. But I really don't have that much information. And I'm working on trying to get our NDAA bill before the committee this coming Tuesday and getting it passed. I'm concentrating on that and I really have not done very much background checking on Mr. Pulley. And that being the case, I'm withholding my comments as someone who just needs more information.

[A]

So, Senator, what could you tell us about getting the DHS funded and the is there any way to do that while financing the security portion of the ballroom, or is it true that that's been gutted, that's been taken out?

[B]

Well, we are in the middle of our very first vote of probably we'll take a couple of dozen today and I do not know where that will that end up. But the thing is we actually very much need, we need to get the Department of Homeland Security open. It's a shame that we have to do it in this unusual reconciliation way which the American people have a hard time understanding because it's frankly so complicated for us. So I hope we can get it open. I do not believe that these other expenditures have to be linked, but we'll see where the votes are. But the main thing is we need to get a very important department of the government open and running. As it should have been, frankly, last October 1st.

[A]

You would think, especially with the World cup here and the Olympics a year away. Senator Roger Wicker, always great to have you on. We should have it on. Have this happen more. I know you're busy this week. Thanks so much for the time.

[B]

Thank you, sir.

[D]

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