Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said Thursday that the United States and Israel would likely need to carry out additional strikes against Iran’s military and continue applying pressure to achieve eventual regime change.

Speaking on Fox Business Network’s “Big Money in the Morning,” Scott said Iran’s economy had been severely damaged but warned that defeating the Iranian regime’s capabilities would take time. “I just got back from the Middle East. I was in Israel, Cyprus, and Greece. And Iran is clearly — their economy is decimated, but these people are crazy,” Scott said, arguing that Iran’s leadership wants to destroy the United States and Israel. “Unfortunately, we’re going to have to continue to fight until they don’t have power,” he added.

Scott defended President Donald Trump’s decision to confront Iran militarily, saying the campaign was necessary to protect American lives. He also praised the Israel Defense Forces for their role in operations against Iranian forces. “It’s frustrating; nobody likes war. But this president did the right thing to save American lives,” Scott said.

The senator said briefings during his recent trip to the Middle East reinforced his view that Iran’s military capabilities had been significantly damaged but not eliminated. “While Iran’s economy is decimated, it’s going to take a while,” Scott said. “We’re going to have to keep working at this to make sure there’s a regime change, eventually.”

Scott also warned that further military action would likely be necessary, saying the United States and Israel had made substantial progress but had not completely neutralized Iran’s forces. “I’m sure it’s going to take a lot more bombing and destroying of the Iranian military force,” he said.