US president tells reporters aboard Air Force One that killing of top Iranian leaders amounts to regime change and that Washington is now dealing with a ‘new group’ of more ‘reasonable’ officials.
US President Donald Trump has claimed that American and Israeli military strikes have effectively achieved “regime change” in Iran, asserting that the deaths of senior Iranian leaders have reshaped the country’s leadership and opened the door to a potential agreement with the United States.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump said the original Iranian regime had been “decimated” and “destroyed”, with subsequent replacements also largely eliminated, leaving the US negotiating with “different people than anybody’s dealt with before”.
“We have a group, it’s really a new regime. It’s a new group of people-people that we’ve never dealt with before, that are acting very reasonable,” Trump said, according to multiple reports. He added that the US would “probably” reach a deal with Iran soon.
The comments come as the US-Israel war on Iran enters its fifth week, with thousands of US troops, including Marines and special operations forces, deployed to the region and ongoing Iranian missile fire reported despite heavy losses.
One regime destroyed, another mostly dead:
Trump described the impact of the strikes, which began on February 28, as having wiped out Iran’s top leadership, including the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He suggested that even the replacement leadership had been significantly weakened.
“The one regime was decimated, destroyed, they’re all dead. The next regime is mostly dead, and the third regime-we’re dealing with different people,” he told reporters.
Iranian officials have not confirmed any fundamental change in the structure of the Islamic Republic, and the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the assassinated leader, remains in place, though his public appearances have been limited. Tehran continues to deny direct negotiations with Washington and has warned against any ground invasion.
Despite reported progress, threats of additional strikes continue:
While touting diplomatic progress, Trump renewed threats against Iranian infrastructure if a deal is not reached “shortly”. He warned that failure to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz would result in the US targeting electric generating plants, oil wells, Kharg Island-Iran’s main oil export terminal-and possibly desalination facilities.
Trump said “great progress” had been made in talks, conducted directly and through intermediaries, but stressed that the US remains prepared to escalate.
Analysts note that Trump’s messaging has alternated between claiming victory through “regime change” and threatening more destruction, a pattern that has raised questions about the coherence of US strategy.
Uncertainty persists regarding the nature of the “new regime.”:
Critics and regional observers question whether the assassination of leaders constitutes genuine regime change, noting that Iran’s power structures, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, appear largely intact despite heavy military losses.
Trump has insisted the US is ahead of schedule in weakening Iran’s capabilities, claiming its air force and much of its missile systems have been largely neutralised.
As diplomatic efforts continue behind the scenes, the coming days are expected to test whether Trump’s assessment of a “more reasonable” Iranian leadership will translate into a concrete ceasefire or if further military escalation is on the horizon.