President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on Jan. 30, 2025. (Roberto Schmidt / AFP via Getty Images)
(JTA) — Following the United State’s strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites Saturday, President Donald Trump floated the possibility of 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!!!” wrote Trump on Truth Social on Sunday.
The message appeared to underscore divisions within the Trump administration, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth telling reporters at a press conference Sunday that the United States’ attack on Iran “was not and is not about regime change.”
Vice President J.D. Vance echoed those sentiments on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” Sunday, telling the host that “We’re not at war with Iran,” adding that the war was against “Iran’s nuclear program.” Vance also declined to confirm whether Iran’s nuclear sites had been completely destroyed, saying that he believed the United States had “substantially delayed” Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon.
In his own address Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel was very close to achieving its goals in Iran, adding that he would not let Israel be dragged into a “war of attrition.”
“We won’t pursue our actions beyond what is needed to achieve [the goals], but we also won’t finish too soon,” Netanyahu told reporters. “When the objectives are achieved, then the operation is complete and the fighting will stop.”
Netanyahu appeared to stop short of calling for regime change.
“I have no doubt that this is a regime that wants to wipe us out, and that’s why we embarked on this operation to eliminate the two concrete threats to our existence: the nuclear threat and the ballistic missile threat. We are moving step by step towards achieving these goals. We are very, very close to completing them,” he continued.
On Thursday, before the U.S. attacks, ISraeli Defense Minister Israel Katz had gone further, declaring that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, cannot be allowed to “continue to exist.”
