US President Donald Trump on Sunday raised the issue of regime change in Iran following the American military’s strikes at three nuclear sites on Saturday night, as senior officials of the Trump administration warned Tehran of severe consequences if it plans retaliation against US strikes.
It is the first time that Trump has floated the idea of regime change in Tehran since Israel launched its offensive against the Islamic country ten days ago, and the United States joined Tel Aviv’s escalation with strikes on Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote “It’s not politically correct to use the term, “Regime Change,” but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!”
But the post by Trump is a complete departure from the stance of the rest of his administration, which has stressed several times over the last week that the United States’ goal is to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons and that America is not pushing for a regime change in the country.
The post by the US president came as officials in the White House, including US Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth noted that America was not working to overthrow the current Iranian government.
Clarifying the US stance, Hegseth said “This mission was not and has not been about regime change,” adding that the mission was a “precision operation” targeting Iran’s nuclear program.
During an interview with NBC News, Vice President Vance also reiterated that their viewpoint has been “very clear” and they do not want a regime change in Iran. “We do not want to protract this or build this out any more than it’s already been built out. We want to end their nuclear program, and then we want to talk to the Iranians about a long-term settlement here,” Vance said.