Senator Tom Cotton, R-Ark., told Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan that he supported retaliatory strikes against Iran after reports suggest that Iran led attacks on commercial shipping vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Cotton has been an outspoken critic of Iranian leadership during his term in the U.S. Senate.

The following is a transcript of the Cotton interview.

Margaret Brennan: You have long been defined as a hawk on Iran. You see these recent attacks, these are commercial vessels not military installations. What kind of response is warranted?

Senator Cotton: Well, Iran for 40 years has engaged in these kinds of attacks going back to the 1980s. In fact, Ronald Reagan had to reflag a lot of vessels going through the Persian Gulf and ultimately take military action against Iran in 1988. These unprovoked attacks on commercial shipping warrant a retaliatory military strike.       MORE