White House says Trump ‘still interested’ in Iran diplomacy, then asks: ‘Why shouldn’t Iranians take down the regime?’

The White House on Monday (June 23) defended the US bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend and suggested that it may be up to the Iranian people to remove their leaders if Tehran refuses to return to diplomatic talks. While top officials insist regime change is not official US policy, President Donald Trump's latest remarks indicate otherwise.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made clear that the US military posture remains unchanged despite the recent strikes. In an interview with ABC News, Leavitt said the US still hopes diplomacy can succeed — but placed the responsibility on the Iranian people if it doesn't. She suggested the decision should be up to the Iranian people to "rise up against this brutal terrorist regime" if they do not engage in diplomacy moving forward.

“If the Iranian regime refuses to come to a peaceful diplomatic solution, which the president is still interested and engaging in, by the way, why shouldn’t the Iranian people take away the power of this incredibly violent regime that has been suppressing them for decades?” she said on Fox News.

She added that the US "believes the Iranian people can control their destiny."

Trump hints at regime change

President Trump raised eyebrows on Sunday night when he posted on his Truth Social platform: "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???"

This marks a sharp divergence from the official US position, which has consistently denied that the military campaign aims to topple the Iranian government.

“Monumental damage” from airstrikes

The US joined Israel’s military campaign over the weekend, launching a risky bombing mission on three major Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities, including the fortified Fordo site buried deep in a mountain south of Tehran.

The White House said the strike was a “complete success.” Trump declared in a post that “Monumental Damage was done” to Iran’s nuclear program.

However, no independent verification of the damage has been released. Questions remain about whether any enriched uranium — potentially usable in a nuclear weapon — had been moved before the strikes.

Confidence in targeted strikes

Leavitt defended the precision of the operation, telling Good Morning America: “We have a high degree of confidence that where those strikes took place is where Iran’s enriched uranium was stored.”

She added, “The president wouldn’t have launched the strikes if we weren’t confident in that.”

According to Leavitt, the administration believes the airstrikes have effectively halted Iran’s nuclear weapons capability: “They no longer have the capability to build this nuclear weapon and threaten the world,” she said.

The US and Israel accuse Iran of covertly pursuing nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian energy program — an allegation Tehran denies. Saturday’s US strikes mark a major escalation in efforts to halt that program.