Regime change isn’t what it used to be. Donald Trump himself had talked it up as a reason for attacking Iran.
In a White House briefing, press secretary Karoline Leavitt talked it all the way back down.
It took until day five of the military action for the White House to lay out its objectives: destroy Iran’s navy; destroy its ballistic missile capacity; ensure its proxies in the region can no longer harm Americans; and ensure it can never obtain a nuclear weapon.
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“Regime change” and what comes next for the Iranian people were conspicuous by their absence.
There was no statement of intent to support a popular uprising in Iran, nor was there any sign that a US mechanism was under consideration to make it happen.
“We hope that freedom rests in their hands,” said Leavitt, referring to the Iranian people without any hint of how “freedom” could be achieved.
She didn’t rule out the use of ground troops but said they weren’t part of the plan.
Asked about reports the Trump administration was considering Kurdish forces in the hope of inspiring a popular uprising in Iran, she responded that such a suggestion was “completely false and should not be written”.
When she talked “victory”, she talked US interests.
“Victory will be determined by the commander in chief,” she said, “once the goals and the objectives that we have repeatedly laid out are fully realised”.
She didn’t put a timeframe on the military action but said the focus was on a “quick and effective” success.
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Between Wednesday’s military and political briefings, it’s clear the Americans are content with their level of success.
Secretary of state Marco Rubio had said on Monday that the US military action was triggered by Israel’s plan to attack Iran.
It had promoted suggestions that President Trump was bounced into a pre-emptive strike by Israel’s intent.
On Trump’s motivation to launch strikes, Leavitt said he acted on a “good feeling” that Iran was going to strike US assets and personnel in the region.
