United States President Donald Trump has questioned the future of Iran's ruling theocracy following a surprise US attack on three nuclear facilities in Iran, a statement he made shortly after his administration's call for negotiations and avoiding escalation.
"It is not politically correct to use the term 'regime change' but if the current Iranian regime is not capable of making Iran great again, why not have regime change," Trump wrote yesterday on his social media network Truth Social.
That announcement appears to contradict a statement by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegsett at a press conference yesterday morning when he spoke in detail about the airstrike on Iranian facilities.
"The mission was not and is not about regime change," Hegseth said yesterday.
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The US administration has made it clear that Iran must stop all work on developing nuclear weapons, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned in an interview with Fox News on Sunday morning that any retaliation against the US or a new rush to build nuclear weapons would "put the regime at risk."
In addition, the world is awash in uncertainty at a critical moment when it could be decided whether war will prevail in parts of the world or a way will be found to salvage relative peace, writes the AP agency.
Trump's warning to the Iranian leadership came at a time when the US was asking Iran not to respond to the bombing of its nuclear program, which it had been developing for decades.
The Trump administration has issued a series of threatening statements while simultaneously urging Iran to restart negotiations, making it difficult to conclude whether the US president is simply provoking his rival or using inflammatory words that could further escalate the war between Israel and Iran that began earlier this month, the AP writes.
Until Trump's announcement yesterday afternoon, coordinated messages from his vice president, Pentagon chief, top military adviser and secretary of state indicated a belief that they could handle the consequences of the attack and that Iran's lack of military capabilities would ultimately force Tehran back to the negotiating table.
Hegseth said America is not seeking war with Iran, while US Vice President J.D. Vance said the strikes gave Tehran a chance to return to negotiations with Washington.
But, as the AP adds, the situation is not completely under Washington's control, as Tehran has a number of levers to respond to the bombing that could intensify the conflict in the Middle East with possible global consequences.
Iran could block oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, attack US bases in the region, launch cyberattacks, or continue to develop its nuclear program more vigorously, which appears to be more necessary after the US strike.
All of this raises questions about whether the strikes will open an even more brutal phase in the fighting or revive negotiations.
In the US, the attack quickly spilled over into domestic politics, and Trump spent much of yesterday attacking his critics in Congress.
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