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President Donald Trump suggested potential regime change Sunday following a surprise U.S. airstrike on three Iranian nuclear sites.
The president shared the comments in a post to his Truth Social account following the weekend attack.
“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!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The comment appeared to contradict remarks made earlier in the day by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who said the strikes were not aimed at toppling the Iranian government.
“This mission was not and has not been about regime change,” Hegseth said at a morning news conference.
The strikes targeted nuclear facilities in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan as part of Operation Midnight Hammer. Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the assault involved decoys and deception and encountered no resistance from Iranian forces.
“Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction,” Caine said.
While officials, including Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance, emphasized that the United States does not seek war with Iran, they also suggested the strikes had opened a window for renewed negotiations. Vance said the Iranian regime now had an opportunity to engage with Washington in a diplomatic manner.
“I think that we have really pushed their program back by a very long time. I think that it’s going to be many, many years before the Iranians are able to develop a nuclear weapon,” Vance said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Iran blasted the U.S. airstrikes as a violation of its sovereignty and international law. While American officials stressed that the targets were limited to nuclear infrastructure, Iran has options to retaliate, including cyberattacks, regional attacks and threats to global oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
