WASHINGTON: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Monday that US President Donald Trump is “still interested” in diplomacy with Iran to negotiate the nuclear programme after the US bombed Tehran’s three nuclear facilities.
US bombers attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities late on Saturday night, joining Israel’s military campaign to destroy the Iranian nuclear programme.
Trump administration’s top officials have repeatedly insisted the US goal is not regime change in Iran, but Trump veered off that messaging Sunday with a social media post saying “Why wouldn’t there be a Regime change???”
“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!!!” he wrote.
The White House said that the risky bombing mission against Iran’s nuclear sites was a complete success. Trump announced in a post that “Monumental Damage was done” to the sites.
However, there is no independent verification of how much Iran’s nuclear programme has been set back.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth repeated on Sunday morning that regime change in Iran was not on the cards.
“This mission was not and has not been about regime change,” Hegseth said.
Iran vows response to US strikes
Iran continues to promise retaliation for United States strikes on critical nuclear facilities, as it launched a new wave of missiles and drones against Israel.
Abdolrahim Mousavi, the new chief of staff of Iranian armed forces, said in a short statement on Monday morning that the US violated Iran’s sovereignty when it attacked the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites on Sunday and had “entered the war clearly and directly”.
“The criminal US must know that in addition to punishing its illegitimate and aggressive offspring, the hands of Islam’s fighters within the armed forces have been freed to take any action against its interests and military, and we will never back down in this regard,” he said, in reference to Israel.
Ebrahim Zolfaghari, who is acting as the spokesman for Iran’s retaliatory strikes against Israel, said in his latest televised statement on Monday that the US’s attacks were meant to “revive the dying Zionist regime” but will actually serve to “expand the scope of the legitimate and various targets of Iranian armed forces, and create the grounds for expanding war in the region”.
Referring to Trump, Zolfaghari said in English: “Gambler Trump, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to finish it.”
Meanwhile, massive Israeli air raids targeted Tehran and nearby Karaj around noon local time, with large plumes of rising visible in areas across the capital.
According to the latest figures from Iran’s Ministry of Health, as of Saturday, more than 400 people have been killed in the Israeli attacks. At least 24 people have been killed in Israel by Iranian projectiles, according to Israeli authorities.
There have also been discussions about the possibility of trying to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz and a potential exit from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Iranian lawmakers have signalled they would back a bill to leave the NPT and suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), but the final decision will lie with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
