Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a news conference that America “does not seek war” with Iran, while Vice President JD Vance said the strikes have given Tehran the possibility of returning to negotiate with Washington. “This mission was not and has not been about regime change,” Hegseth said. But Trump’s post later on Sunday on his Truth Social page marked something of a reversal from Hegseth’s Sunday morning news conference.
“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???” Trump posted on social media. “MIGA!!!”
However, the unfolding situation is not entirely under Washington’s control, as Tehran has a series of levers to respond to the aerial bombings that could intensify the conflict in the Middle East with possible global repercussions. Iran can block oil being shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, attack US bases in the region, engage in cyber attacks or double down on a nuclear program that might seem like more of a necessity after the US strike.
All of that raises the question of whether the strikes will open up a far more brutal phase of fighting or revive negotiations out of an abundance of caution. Inside the US, the attack quickly spilled over into domestic politics with Trump choosing to spend part of his Sunday going after his critics.
‘Spectacular military success’
The US president, who had addressed the nation from the White House on Saturday night, returned to social media on Sunday to lambaste Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who had objected to the president taking military action without specific congressional approval.
“We had a spectacular military success yesterday, taking the ‘bomb’ right out of their hands (and they would use it if they could!)” Trump said as part of the post on Truth Social.
At their joint Pentagon briefing, Hegseth and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that “Operation Midnight Hammer” involved decoys and deception, and met with no Iranian resistance. Caine indicated that the goal of the operation – destroying nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan – had been achieved. “Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction,” Caine said.
Vance said in a television interview that while he would not discuss “sensitive intelligence about what we’ve seen on the ground,” he felt “very confident that we’ve substantially delayed their development of a nuclear weapon.” Pressed further, he told NBC’s Meet the Press that “I think that we have really pushed their program back by a very long time. I think that it’s going to be many many years before the Iranians are able to develop a nuclear weapon.”
The vice president said the US had “negotiated aggressively” with Iran to try to find a peaceful settlement and that Trump made his decision after assessing the Iranians were not acting “in good faith.”
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“I actually think it provides an opportunity to reset this relationship, reset these negotiations and get us in a place where Iran can decide not to be a threat to its neighbors, not to be a threat to the United States, and if they’re willing to do that, the United States is all ears,” Vance said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that “there are no planned military operations right now against Iran, unless, unless they mess around and they attack” US interests.
