A day after floating the possibility of regime change in Iran, US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he does not want a regime change in Iran because he does not want to see 'chaos', CNN reported.
"I am not looking for regime change in Iran. That would lead to chaos", Trump said while speaking to reporters about the Iran-Israel ceasefire agreement, before leaving for the NATO summit in The Hague.
This came as a contradiction to his previous statement that he made on Truth Social, saying, "If it is necessary, a regime change must be implemented in Iran, considering that the previous Iranian government is unable to make Iran great again."
Writing on Truth Social, Trump claimed that he had helped achieve the ceasefire between the two countries. "Israel and Iran came to me, almost simultaneously, and said, "PEACE!" I knew the time was NOW."
The US president had earlier claimed he had been able to do the same during the Indo-Pak conflict in May.
Trump has been nominated by the US Congressman Buddy Carter for the Nobel Peace Prize after brokering Iran-Israel ceasefire deal. "President Trump was instrumental in forging a swift agreement that many believed to be impossible", wrote the congressman in his letter addressed to the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee on June 24.
Trump emphasised that Iran would not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons and claimed that Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, reached out to him about the same, offering Russian support.
A U-Turn From Previous Statements
On June 23, Trump took to Truth Social saying, “If the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be Regime change??? MIGA!!!”
Trump's previous post is not only in contrast with what he is saying currently, but is also the opposite of what his own White House staff has said.
Vice President J.D Vance said in an interview with ABC, “We don’t want to achieve regime change. We want to achieve the end of the Iranian nuclear program.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have also backed this stance and explained that the United States is focused on ending Iran’s nuclear program, not removing its government.
The Opposition
Members of the Democratic Party have openly criticized Trump and the Republican Party for bombing Iran without authorization from Congress. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went on X to criticize Trump for having ‘risked launching a war’ and calling for his impeachment.
Trump has also faced some minor backlash from his Republican party, such as that from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who claims that Trump has forgotten the ‘key promises’ and the ‘MAGA agenda’ over the conflict in Iran.
Trump’s ever-changing, self-contradictory stances have raised concerns within and outside the US on whether the President’s office has a clear position in the Middle Eastern situation.
