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GOP Sen. Ted Cruz told Aaron MacLean on the "School of War" podcast that President Trump should heap more pressure on Iran — including by arming Iranians to "let them overthrow their own government."

With the U.S.-Iran conflict in its sixth month, the Trump administration is angling for a deal. But Republican Sen. Ted Cruz argues the U.S. should heap more pressure on Iran's regime — including by arming Iranians who oppose their government.

"I think our objective should be regime collapse," the Texas Republican told CBS News national security analyst and Free Press columnist Aaron MacLean on the "School of War" podcast .

Cruz first pushed for the U.S. to arm protesters in late January, after Iran cracked down on the country's largest wave of demonstrations in years , killing at least 12,000 people , sources told CBS News.

A month later, the U.S. and Israel began striking Iran. The stated goal was to degrade Iran's conventional military and nuclear program, but President Trump also urged ordinary Iranians to "take over your government" and oust the hardline clerical regime that has ruled Iran since 1979.

Since then, the U.S. and Iran have oscillated between strikes and diplomacy. The two countries struck a memorandum of understanding in June aimed at halting the conflict, restoring shipping traffic, launching negotiations over Iran's nuclear program and eventually loosening sanctions on Iran. The agreement collapsed last month, but Iran is now inching toward a deal with Oman to allow shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, which could allow U.S.-Iran talks to resume .

Cruz has criticized many of the U.S.'s diplomatic overtures toward Iran. He told MacLean the memorandum of understanding was a "disaster" and a "terrible deal," warning it would set the stage for Iran to get billions of dollars in sanctions relief and $300 billion in economic development funds, and could let Iran assume "a permanent role with the Strait of Hormuz."