Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., told Newsmax on Friday that Iran "cannot be trusted" not to continue work on nuclear weapons after the strike on its nuclear power facilities by Israel overnight Friday.

Asked if the strikes could escalate and draw U.S. adversaries into a larger conflict, Van Orden said on "National Report" that "there's always a possibility of Iran to do foolish things, and they've proven that throughout the decades."

He added: "So whoever Iran partners with, if they find somebody, they've already been fueling these proxy wars around the world, you're going to pay a price if you mess with America, period."

Van Orden later said: "The time for joking is over. These folks are have been trying to get nuclear weapons and start a global thermonuclear war for a long period of time, and they cannot be trusted. They are not trusted, and if they strike out against Americans and our allies, we're going to end them. I don't know how I can say that in a in a more strenuous way: Iran will never be allowed to have nuclear weapons. Period."