White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt. Photo: Getty images
White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said on Monday that US President Donald Trump remains open to a “diplomatic and peaceful solution” with Iran. At the same time, in her comments on Fox News, she hinted that if the Iranian authorities refuse to engage in dialogue, “the people of Iran should rid themselves of this extremely brutal regime.”
Leavitt emphasised:
“If the Iranian regime does not want peace talks, which the president is still interested in, then why shouldn’t the Iranian people take power away from this bloody regime that has been suppressing them for decades?”
This comes a day after Trump openly admitted the possibility of “regime change” in Tehran for the first time, as reported by AFP and News.ro.
Escalation in the Middle East
Iran responded by promising to “direct its actions” against US bases in the region that are used to strike the country’s nuclear facilities. On Sunday night, Donald Trump announced “successful” strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. B-2 bombers were used, and according to the US president, the facilities were “completely and utterly destroyed”. He warned that the US was ready to launch new strikes if Tehran did not make concessions.
Solidarity of allies
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday expressed his “strong support” for the US operation. “Leaving things as they are was not an option,” he said, noting that although “such actions carry risks, it was a necessary step.” The previous week, Merz also backed Israeli strikes on Iranian targets, calling them a “necessary mission.”
