Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) on Wednesday had a difficult time defending President Donald Trump’s claims that war with Iran could be necessary — as his own administration announced just last year that Iran’s nuclear facilities have been “obliterated.”

Mullin appeared on CNN to make the case for military intervention, only for “The Source” host Kaitlan Collins to balk at his purported reasoning that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is “obviously trying to rebuild” its facilities to build a nuclear weapon.

“Right, but, if we obliterated it, we being the United States last summer, then why are you worried about it right now if it was obliterated?” Collins asked Mullin, who echoed Trump’s ongoing narrative: “Because they’re rebuilding it and you can see them rebuilding it.”

Collins countered, “But it was ‘obliterated.’”

“But that doesn’t mean you can’t rebuild,” said Mullin. “I mean, people have car accidents and obliterate their bones and their legs, and yet they can still put, you know, they can still put metal back in ’em and walk again.”

Trump announced in June that the U.S. had bombed three sites in Iran and that the its nuclear program had thus been “obliterated.” He and numerous senior officials have since claimed Iran is resuming its efforts and that negotiations haven’t been successful.

Collins doubled down on her pushback, pointing skeptically to claims from U.S. envoy Steve Wittkoff that Iran is “a week away” from nuclear capabilities. Mullin claimed not to have seen “those reports” and defended Trump giving Iran “10 to 15 days” to accept a deal.

Mullin, who previously claimed on the show to oppose regime change in Iran before admitting that he doesn’t, went on to praise active military service members for potentially accepting the “risk” of putting themselves in danger if Trump declares war.

He then appeared to say the quiet part out loud.

“There is no way, Kaitlan, we cannot allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” he said. “Can you imagine the destabilization they can have to the world trade by controlling the Suez Canal or the majority of the world’s oil? Because energy is the backbone of our economy.”

Collins replied, “I think people see the risks for sure, obviously, of a nuclear-armed Iran. I think it’s just hard sometimes to get your head around that we were told last summer it was ‘obliterated’ — and now we’re saying a strike might be necessary if the talks don’t work.”

Mullin offered a bizarre response, essentially reiterating that the two separate claims can be different: “But ‘obliterated’ is much different than ‘they’re rebuilding it.’ They are perfectly trying to rebuild it. Why do you think China and Russia are silent on this?”

When asked how something can be rebuilt after it was obliterated, Mullins tripled down.

“I’ve already explained that,” he said. “How do you rebuild your legs after you shatter them? How do you rebuild a house after it’s been knocked down by a tornado or a hurricane? You can rebuild things. The foundation may still be there.”

Mullin has since been widely slammed for what critics have called an “idiotic” argument.

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