Iran warns of wider retaliation after U.S. strike while Trump floats regime change
Iran said on Monday that the U.S. attack on its nuclear sites expanded the range of legitimate targets for its armed forces and called U.S. President Donald Trump a “gambler” for joining “Israel’s” military campaign against the Islamic Republic.
Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya central military headquarters, said the U.S. should expect heavy consequences for its actions.
“Mr Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to end it,” Zolfaqari said in English at the end of a recorded video statement.
Trump earlier called on Iran to forgo any retaliation and said the government “must now make peace” or future attacks would be “far greater and a lot easier”, fuelling global concern about further escalation of conflict in the Middle East.
Moreover, he raised the question of regime change in Iran, saying, “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??? MIGA!!!” Trump wrote on his social media platform.
Trump’s post, however, came after officials in his administration, including U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, stressed they were not working to overthrow Iran’s government.
“This mission was not and has not been about regime change,” Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon, calling the mission “a precision operation” targeting Iran’s nuclear program.
Vance, in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker,” said, “Our view has been very clear that we don’t want a regime change.”
“We do not want to protract this or build this out any more than it’s already been built out. We want to end their nuclear program, and then we want to talk to the Iranians about a long-term settlement here,” Vance said, adding the U.S. “had no interest in boots on the ground.”
