The spectre of ‘regime change’ in Tehran seems to be haunting the Israel-Iran war. Even more so after US president Donald Trump followed up America’s bombing raid on three Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday with the following social-media post: ‘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?’
Trump’s post itself is ambiguous – it’s not clear who or what exactly might change the regime or when it might happen. Today, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt tried to clear up any misunderstanding, claiming Trump was simply asking, ‘why shouldn’t the Iranian people rise up against this brutal terrorist regime?’. Moreover, Trump’s cabinet, including some of its more hawkish members, has been keen to emphasise that regime change in Iran is not the US’s objective. Defence secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday’s ‘precision operation’ specifically targeted Iran’s nuclear programme and ‘was not and has not been about regime change’. Vice-president JD Vance and secretary of state Marco Rubio have also been at pains to insist that the US is not looking to enter a full-scale war with Iran.
But if we’re to take Trump’s vague post to mean what his constantly hyperventilating critics say it does – that the US is contemplating carrying out regime change itself – then that would indeed be a dangerous, reckless move. The US’s raid was, itself, not without huge risk. For all the talk of ‘precision’ strikes, they could well embroil America in this war. While Israel is right to fight back against Iran’s very real aggression, sucking in the global hegemon risks broadening the conflict. Even so, the US pursuing regime change would be a truly spectacular folly. Which we can only hope isn’t being countenanced.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Ruth King
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, http://www.ruthfullyyours.com and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.