Trump Seems to Embrace ‘Regime Change’ in Iran, Saying U.S. Already Achieved It by Killing Leader

Trump claimed aboard Air Force One on Sunday that his administration has already achieved "regime change" in Iran by killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior officials including defense ministers and Revolutionary Guard commanders. The U.S., in joint strikes with Israel, killed Khamenei, who was succeeded by his son Mojtaba, along with at least seven other Iranian leaders, though key figures including President Masoud Pezeshkian remain alive. Trump said the new Iranian leadership he is "dealing with" consists of "very reasonable" people and "a whole different group," though a senior Israeli researcher countered that the leadership shifts represent a "transformation within the regime itself" rather than true regime change and have made Iran "more extreme." The Trump administration is reportedly in talks with Iran's Parliament speaker, Mohammed-Baqer Qalibaf, as a potential U.S.-backed leader, with Pakistan serving as intermediary. Trump's current embrace of regime change contradicts his 2016 campaign promise to stop "racing to topple foreign regimes," though he has recently warmed to the concept, telling CNBC last week that regime change is an apt descriptor for what the U.S. has achieved.