'Take away power of this regime': Trump 'still interested' in Iran diplomacy but asks why Iranians don’t overthrow 'violent' regime

US President Donald Trump has said he is still open to diplomacy with Iran but questioned why the Iranian people shouldn’t remove their government if it refuses to negotiate. His comments came after American B-2 bombers struck three of Iran’s key nuclear sites over the weekend.

Speaking on Fox News, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “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?”

Trump contradicts officials with ‘regime change’ post

Although senior US officials have consistently said that regime change is not the aim of American policy, Trump posted on social media Sunday, “Why wouldn’t there be a Regime change???”

The strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities marked a major escalation in US involvement in the conflict, with Washington now backing Israel’s campaign to shut down Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

White House confident Iran’s nuclear sites are destroyed

Leavitt also backed Trump’s claim that Iran’s nuclear sites had been “completely and totally obliterated.” She told Good Morning America, “We are confident, yes, that Iran’s nuclear sites were completely and totally obliterated, as the president said in his address to the nation on Saturday night.”

She added, “We have a high degree of confidence that where those strikes took place is where Iran’s enriched uranium was stored.” Leavitt insisted the president would not have approved the strikes unless he believed they would be effective.

IAEA chief says Iran’s uranium stockpile unaccounted for

Rafael Grossi, who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the agency cannot confirm where Iran’s near-weapons-grade nuclear material is currently located. He has called for inspectors to be allowed back into Iran to examine the impact of the strikes and assess the situation on the ground. Speaking to CNN, Grossi noted that Iran has roughly 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%, close to the 90% required to make a nuclear bomb.

General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Monday it was still “way too early” to determine whether Iran’s nuclear capabilities had been entirely eliminated. He said assessments were ongoing and that further analysis would be needed in thecomingdays.