President Donald Trump speaks from the East Room of the White House in Washington, as Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listen. (Carlos Barria/Pool via AP)
US President Donald Trump on Sunday (local time) appeared to support a potential regime change in Iran, seemingly contradicting his own administration's stand that Operation Midnight Hammer - US air strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran - was not aimed at bringing about a regime change in the Islamic Republic.“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 posted on his Truth Social platform, slightly tweaking his popular "Make America Great Again" slogan.Earlier, his administration members such as vice president JD Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio and defense secretary Pete Hegseth, all made public remarks about how Operation Midnight Hammer was only meant to target the nuclear sites, and not toppling the Iranian regime.“This mission was not and has not been about regime change,” Hegseth said at a news conference which detailed the aerial bombing of the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites."Our view is very clear that we don't want a regime change...we want to end their nuclear programme and then we want to talk to the Iranians about a long-term settlement here," Vance told NBC News.Speaking to CBS News, Rubio noted that the precise mission had only three objectives - the three targeted nuclear sites."It was not an attack on Iran, not an attack on the Iranian people, and this wasn't a regime-change move," he stated.