Trump: “Why not replace the Iranian regime?”

President Trump on Sunday appeared to express an interest in regime change in Iran in a social media post.

“Perhaps term ‘regime change’ is not politically correct, but if the regime in Iran can’t get the country to be great again, why should it be allowed to continue? Iran great again!” Trump wrote on the social media platform Truth Social.

Previously, the CBS News reported on Saturday, citing a source familiar with the matter, that U.S. has told Iran through diplomatic channels that it has no plans to pursue regime change in Iran, and that striking Iran’s nuclear facilities is “the extent of the.S. plan.”

At a news conference held at the Pentagon on Sunday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said all three of Iran’s key nuclear had been “extremely damaged,” but the extent of the damage still needed to be determined.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, in a phone call with President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday, said the U.S. airstrike on Iran’s nuclear facilities is an act of aggression, and Iran will respond to it

According to a statement released by the Iranian Presidency on Sunday, Raisi told Macron that Iran has never started a war on its own initiative, but will definitely defend if it is attacked. He said that Iran has always expressed its willingness to engage in dialogue within the framework of international rules, but will never succumb to hegemonic policies and that it is legitimate to respond appropriately to aggression.

Raisi said that during the indirect talks in Oman on the Iranian nuclear issue, the United States and Iran talked about confidence-building, yet the U.S. side attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities. He pointed out that the effectiveness of diplomatic negotiations is based on the premise that both fulfill their commitments, rather than one side attacking the other during negotiations and undermining trust.

Raisi reiterated that Iran has never sought war or nuclear weapons, as and stability are the cornerstones of national development.