Tucker Carlson gratefully said ‘thank God’ after Donald Trump announced he’d negotiated a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

The former Fox News host recently had a brief conflict with both the president and a notable public exchange with Senator Ted Cruz concerning the United States’ backing of Israel’s actions against Iran’s nuclear initiatives.

Tucker Carlson posted to X after the ceasefire was revealed by Trump, stating simply: ‘Thank God.’

He then posted a new episode of his talk show with an additional note slamming his former Fox News colleague Mark Levin. 

‘Thank God Trump brokered a ceasefire. That’s the last thing Mark Levin wanted.’

Levin had also been clapping back at Carlson all week and suggested he was acting on behalf of the Qatari government. 

This marks an eventful week for the conservative commentator, who criticized Trump’s endorsement of Israeli strikes in Iran. He noted in a newsletter that ‘many within Trump’s MAGA base are displeased.’

‘US says it was “not involved,”‘ Carlson wrote. ‘That’s not true. Trump is complicit in an act of war.’ 

Tucker Carlson (pictured) gratefully said ‘thank God’ after Donald Trump announced he’d negotiated a ceasefire between Israel and Iran

The former Fox News host had temporarily clashed with the president and participated in a widely viewed confrontation with Senator Ted Cruz over the U.S.’s support for Israel’s efforts against Iran’s nuclear program.

Both Carlson and former political strategist Steve Bannon appeared on each other’s podcasts sharing their growing alarm that the president was launching another ‘forever war’ in the Middle East.

The president bristled at Carlson’s criticism, dismissing his comments at the G7 Summit in Canada.

‘I don’t know what Tucker Carlson is saying, let him go get a television network and say it so the people listen,’ Trump said.

Shortly afterward, the president fired back at Carlson on social media.

‘Somebody please explain to kooky Tucker Carlson that IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,’ Trump wrote. 

The former host was spectacularly fired from the news network in April 2023 and started his own independent network.

Trump revealed that Carlson had called him after the president called him out as ‘kooky’ on Monday and taunted him for not being on cable television anymore .

‘Tucker’s a nice guy. He called and apologized the other day because he thought he said things that were a little bit too strong and I appreciated that,’ Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday.

Carlson (pictured right) specifically gave Trump (pictured left) credit for brokering the ceasefire after the president had called him ‘kooky’ last week

However, it was Carlson’s battle royale with Ted Cruz that set the internet afire last week.

Carlson pressed Cruz on his knowledge of the Middle Eastern region with a series of ‘gotcha’ questions which culminated in a jaw dropping revelation that America was directly involved in ‘carrying out military strikes’ on Iran.

Cruz’s statement is a major departure from everything the Trump administration has said about US involvement up until this stage – a point that was not lost on Carlson.

‘You said Israel was [carrying out strikes],’ Carlson said, to which Cruz responded: ‘I’ve said we. Israel is leading them, but we’re supporting them.’

‘You’re breaking news here,’ Carlson said. ‘The US government last night denied… on behalf of Trump, that we’re acting on Israel’s behalf in any offensive capacity.’

Cruz appeared to backpedal on his statement, then telling Carlson: ‘No, we’re not bombing them. Israel is bombing them.’

Carlson said: ‘You just said we were. This is high stakes. You’re a senator. If you’re saying the United States is at war with Iran right now, people are listening.’ 

The conservative commentator’s earlier line of questioning had put Cruz under pressure and highlighted just how little he knows about the region.

Carlson (pictured right) humiliated Republican senator Ted Cruz (pictured left) during an intense grilling over Iran as MAGA tears itself apart over the crisis in the Middle East

‘How many people live in Iran, by the way?’ Carlson had asked.

‘I don’t know the population,’ Cruz accepted, much to Carlson’s horror as he quipped: ‘At all?’

‘You don’t know the population of the people you’re trying to topple?’ Carlson added.

Cruz tried to turn the tables back on Carlson, asking him for the number, to which the podcast host immediately responded: ’92 million.’

‘How could you not know that?’ Carlson said. ‘It’s kind of relevant because you’re calling for the overthrow of the government.’

By this stage, the men were shouting over the top of one another as Cruz frantically tried to defend himself, first arguing ‘I don’t sit around memorizing population tables’, before adding: ‘Why is it relevant whether it’s 90 million or 80 million.’

Carlson, who appeared incredulous at the question, began to explain why he found it important ‘if you don’t know anything about the country’, but was cut off by Cruz who said: ‘I didn’t say I don’t know anything about Iran.’

‘Okay,’ Carlson countered, ‘what is the ethnic mix of Iran?’

Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon hosted a podcast criticizing Trump for allowing Israel to bomb Iran

Cruz stumbled over his answer, naming Persians and ‘predominately Shia’ before he was cut off by Carlson, who said again: ‘What percent? You don’t know anything on Iran.’

Finally Cruz cracked, shouting: ‘Okay, I’m not the Tucker Carlson expert on Iran.’

Carlson said: ‘You’re the Senator who is calling for the overthrow of the government and you don’t know anything about the country.’

The argument went from bad to worse when Cruz began leveling insults at Carlson.

He said: ‘No, you don’t know anything about the country. You’re the one who claims they’re not trying to murder Donald Trump. You’re the one who can’t figure out if it was a good idea to kill General Solmani.’

On Monday, Trump announced that Iran and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire, two weeks after they started exchanging missile strikes and two days after he bombed the Islamic Republic’s nuclear labs. 

The president said the ’12 day war’ will ‘end’ in 24 hours, despite both nations warning of future strikes and just hours after Tehran attacked America’s largest military base in the Middle East.

He announced the ceasefire deal in a Truth Social post, claiming it is set to go into effect into six hours.

While Israel and Iran have not confirmed if there is a deal, Trump congratulated everyone involved and said the ceasefire will begin once in-progress missions are completed.

Trump broke his silence on Iran’s retaliatory strikes on Monday by demanding the end of the conflict in the Middle East and taunting the Ayatollah for his ‘very weak response.’

The president said on Truth Social that US forces ‘effectively countered’ Iran’s targeting of the Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar, two days after he bombed three Iranian nuclear sites.

Trump said that no Americans were harmed in Iran’s retaliatory strikes on Monday and declared, ‘they’ve got it all out of their system’, as he thanked Iran for giving early notice to allow the US to evacuate the base beforehand.

‘Perhaps Iran can now proceed to Peace and Harmony in the Region, and I will enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same,’ he wrote, before adding in a follow-up post: ‘CONGRATULATIONS WORLD, IT’S TIME FOR PEACE!’

Trump addressed the escalations on Monday soon after Iran warned that its retaliation to Trump’s strikes on its nuclear facilities may not be over.

World leaders quickly condemned Iran’s strikes and expressed support to Qatar, which said that it has not ruled out retaliatory strikes of its own against Iran.