Iran

Trump Is Back To Seeking Regime Change in Iran

With the conflict over Hormuz dragging on, the administration is betting on a strategy that failed at the beginning of the war.

Matthew Petti | 9.2.2026 2:55 PM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL Add Reason to Google

Media Contact & Reprint Requests

(Illustration: Midjourney.)

President Donald Trump's attack on Iran was clearly designed as a regime-change war. In his opening speech of the war, on February 28, he told "the great proud people of Iran" that "the hour of your freedom is at hand" and that everyone associated with the Iranian government was marked for "certain death," from generals to traffic cops. Trump told other leaders (and later admitted publicly) that he expected the Islamic Republic to collapse in a few days.

A little over a month into the war, with no signs of Iranian collapse, Trump changed his goals to securing a favorable deal with Iran, and eventually signed a U.S.-Iranian peace memorandum in June 2026. But after a few more months of inconclusive conflict—including a round of U.S.-Iranian fighting this week and the U.S. bombing of an Iranian wedding on Tuesday night—Trump is back to calling for regime change.

"I'm not trying to force Iran to the bargaining table, as ABC Fake News reported. I couldn't care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement. I like our position now much better, with almost total........

© Reason.com