The Wretched History of Regime |
Photograph Source: موسسه مطالعات و پژوهش های سیاسی – Public Domain
“If we have to use force, it is because we are America; we are the indispensable nation. We stand tall and we see further than other countries into the future, and we see the danger here to all of us.”
– Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s classic representation of American virtue and clairvoyance, 1999.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is planning to come to Washington in the next week or so, and probably will make his case for regime change in Iran. Having convinced Donald Trump of the need to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, Netanyahu will presumably turn to his next goal, which is to end the regime of the Ayatollah and destroy the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the military organization dedicated to regime control and survival.
Trump has muddied the waters on this issue. Although he has said he opposes regime change, he raised the possibility two days after the successful military attack against Iran’s nuclear facilities. This contradicted the statements of Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who said the United States was not trying to topple the regime in Tehran.
The air attacks of the Israeli Defense Forces suggested that their bombardment campaign was against Tehran’s internal political power as well as Iran’s nuclear and external military power. There were rumors that Netanyahu was on the verge of targeting the Ayatollah Khamenei, but was talked back by Donald Trump. Netanyahu must be concerned that the Trump administration is still considering the resumption of diplomatic talks with Iran, and he will arrive in Washington to make the case for a continued military campaign. When asked if he was targeting Khamenei himself, Netanyahu replied that “We are doing what we need to do.”
Meanwhile, the regime change efforts of........