Mere hours after Donald Trump’s Defense Secretary, generals and other cabinet members sought to assuage fears of another Middle East quagmire by saying the U.S. involvement in Iran would be limited, the president on Sunday signaled on his Truth Social platform that he may have other ambitions.
“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 Sunday afternoon.
The president’s apparent desire to broaden the conflict’s scope – which his lieutenants said Sunday morning would be limited to its nuclear program – came less than 24 hours after the United States bombed three Iranian nuclear sites, causing “severe damage” in a surprise attack but falling short of the “totally obliterated” testing and enrichment sites Trump touted on Saturday night.
On Sunday morning, Secretary of State Marco Rubio vehemently denied that the Trump Administration was seeking regime change in Iran, bristling at the suggestion by host Margaret Brennan. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a Sunday morning Pentagon briefing that the conflict “is most certainly not open-ended,” adding that Trump had given him “a focused, powerful and clear mission” that was limited to the overnight strikes.
Trump has said “total surrender” and diplomacy would be the only way forward for Iran, so the statement could be interpreted as a negotiation tactic, as Iranian officials have so far declined to re-enter talks with the West.
Late Sunday night, Trump warned Iran against retaliation, posting:
“ANY RETALIATION BY IRAN AGAINST THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL BE MET WITH FORCE FAR GREATER THAN WHAT WAS WITNESSED TONIGHT. THANK YOU! DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.”
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