While traveling to the NATO summit in the Netherlands, President Trump clarified on Tuesday that he has no interest in toppling the Iranian government, citing the destabilizing consequences such a move could bring.
“No. If there was, there was, but no, I don’t want it. I’d like to see everything calm down as quickly as possible,” the president told reporters aboard Air Force One. “Regime change takes chaos and ideally we don’t want to see so much chaos. So we’ll see how it goes.”
The president made these remarks just days after he authorized a U.S. military strike targeting Iranian nuclear facilities, a move that led him to call for an immediate end to fighting between Iran and Israel on Monday.
Over the weekend, following the initial Israeli air raids on Iranian territory, Trump took to Truth Social suggesting the possibility of eliminating Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and referenced “regime change” in a provocative post on Sunday.
“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.
However, sources previously said that behind closed doors, Trump had voiced concerns that ousting Iran’s leadership could backfire and result in a disastrous situation similar to what unfolded in Libya.
{Matzav.com}