Rubio says US war in Iran has 'nothing to do with leadership' despite Trump's 'regime change' claims

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday (Mar 30) raised questions about the new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei yet again and also contradicted US President Donald Trump's ‘regime change’ remark. Highlighting that US demands in the peace plan, he said that it is identical to what the Trump administration demanded before the war. He also said that Iran’s demand for sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz is unacceptable, while claiming that “it’s not quite clear how decisions are being made inside of Iran.”

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Rubio said, “No one has seen him [Mojtaba Khamenei]. No one has heard from him. It’s very opaque right now. It’s not quite clear how decisions are being made inside of Iran.” He added, “From the very beginning, had nothing to do with the leadership.” The Secretary of State also said that there are “messages and some direct talks going on between some inside of Iran and the United States, primarily through intermediaries, but there’s been some conversation.” Rubio outlined, “The Iranian regime can never have nuclear weapons, and they need to stop sponsoring terrorism, and they need to stop building weapons that can threaten their neighbours.” ”Tehran must take demonstrable steps towards ending any ambition of having nuclear weapons,” he added.

Also Read: ‘Iran has undergone regime change’: Trump's BIG statement after a month of war

Contradictions about Iran war

Trump administration has seemingly changed its stance a number of times regarding the Iran war. Firstly, Rubio claimed that the US pre-emptively attacked Iran after knowing Israel's plans. But, contradicting his claims, Trump said that America might have dragged Israel to the war. Then, there were conflicting statements regarding the regime change. While it was initially stated that America wants a regime change, later, after the killing of Khamenei, Rubio said that objective was not to change the leadership.

Also Read: Iran allows India, 4 other nations to use Strait of Hormuz amid energy crisis

What Trump said about Mojtaba and regime change?

Trump on Sunday (Mar 29) spoke to press abroad Air Force One and said that Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is severely wounded as he is no where to be seen. “Nobody's heard about him. He may be alive, but he's obviously in trouble. He's seriously wounded.” He also claimed about a regime change that he claimed has already taken place in Iran and ruled out need for a ground offensive. On Mar 14, Trump had said that he doesn't know if Mojtaba is “even alive.” "I’m hearing he’s not alive, and if he is, he should do something very smart for his country, and that’s surrender.” However, within minutes the US president described reports of his death as “a rumour.”

On regime change, Trump said, “The one regime was decimated, destroyed, they're all dead. The next regime is mostly dead. And the third regime, we're dealing with different people than anybody's dealt with before. It's a whole different group of people. So I would consider that regime change.”

What Iran said?

Iran has repeatedly said that its new Supreme Leader is fine. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Mar 14 said that there was "no problem" with the Islamic Republic's new Supreme Leader, silencing all buzz around his whereabouts. "There is no problem with the new supreme leader. He sent his message yesterday, and he will perform his duties," Araghchi told MSNBC. On March 11, Yousef Pezeshkian, the son of President Masoud Pezeshkian, said that Mojtaba was “safe and sound.”

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