
Just hours after Vice PresidentJD Vanceand Secretary of StateMarco Rubiosaid theUnited States did not want "regime change"in Iran, PresidentDonald Trumpsaid that might be a desired outcome. "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 in aTruth Social poston June 22 as Mideast tensions continued to escalate the day after theU.S. military bombedthree Iranian nuclear sites. Trump's post signaling an openness to new leadership in Tehran followed his vice president and secretary of State appearing on the Sunday morning talk shows arguing the U.S. focus wasnot at launching a war with Iran. "We don't want a regime change," Vance told NBC's Meet the Press. "We want to end the nuclear program, and then we want to talk to the Iranians about a long-term settlement here." During an interview withCBS's Face the Nation, Rubio said the U.S. had a very specific mission in mind to take out Iranian nuclear facilities and that the onus is now on Tehran showing an interest in diplomacy. "There are a lot of regimes around the world that we don't like, okay?," Rubio said. "But in this particular case, what we are focused on is not the changing of the regime." Five days before ordering the U.S. airstrikes, Trump on June 16threatened Iran's supreme leaderon social media and followed up a short while later with another two-word post: "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!" In his remarks from the White House announcing the U.S. bombing operation on June 21, Trump said he wanted to "stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world's number one state sponsor of terror." "Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier," Trump said. "For 40 years, Iran has been saying, "Death to America, Death to Israel." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Trump says he's open to regime change in Iran