Hegseth Claims Iran’s ‘Regime Has Been Changed’ Amid Shaky Ceasefire
War Secretary Pete Hegseth asserted Wednesday that Iran is under a new regime with a “new calculus” regarding negotiations with the United States, just a day after President Donald Trump threatened total destruction due to the nation’s intransigence.
Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday evening, just before a deadline for Iran to agree to terms expired. In a subsequent Truth Social article, Trump said Iran had “experienced what will be a very productive regime change” and would now work closely with the United States. At a press conference on Wednesday, Hegseth was asked about these comments and whether Iran’s current leaders are truly a “new” regime different from the one that was in place before Operation Epic Fury. (RELATED: Trump Showed ‘Mercy’ to Iran in ‘Devastating Military Defeat,’ Hegseth Says)
“You, Mr. Secretary, as well as the President have referred to a new regime in Iran,” the journalist asked. “So, isn’t this the regime that we have been at war with for 47 years and how, what are we thinking about when we say this is a new regime? What are we thinking and what are we saying there?”
“Well, it’s always been non-negotiable that they won’t have nuclear capabilities and so right now it’s buried and we’re monitoring it, we know exactly what they have, and they know it, and they’ll either give it to us, as the president has planned, or they’ll give it to us voluntarily, we’ll get it, we’ll take it, we’ll take it out, or if we have to do something else ourselves like we did in Midnight Hammer or something, reserve this opportunity for us,” Hegseth replied.
In the opening statement of his briefing, Hegseth listed numerous senior regime officials who were killed during Operation Epic Fury, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as senior military commanders and leaders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The Assembly of Iranian Experts named Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as supreme leader on March 8, but the new ayatollah has not been seen in public since. Hegseth described Khamenei as having been “disfigured” during the attacks on Iran, which he reiterated during Wednesday’s press briefing.
In a speech in December, Hegseth said the War Department under his leadership “will not be distracted by pro-democracy interventionism, indefinite wars, regime changes, climate change, woke moralizing, and irresponsible nation-building.”
At Wednesday’s press briefing, Hegseth argued that Iran is now led by those who have seen what the U.S. military can do and has had “different interactions” with the United States as a result.
“But what is clear, what the Iranian, the new Iranian regime, knows is that it will never have a nuclear weapon or the capacity to achieve it,” Hegseth said. “As for the new regime, you heard the list that I read, it’s a new group of people who have seen the full capability of the U.S. military and have a new vision of what it means to negotiate with us, hence why they came to the table wanting a ceasefire and an end to the shooting. So this new regime, which – the regime has been changed – has a different interaction with the United States.”
The New York Times reported that the Israeli government had suggested targeting Ali Khamenei, predicting that it would cause the theocratic regime to collapse and allow a secular government to take over.
Despite the ceasefire announcement, Iran has fired ballistic missiles and drones at several countries, including Israel. Trump also announced 50% tariffs on any country supplying weapons to Iran.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent, nonpartisan news service, is available free to any legitimate news publisher capable of delivering a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and DCNF affiliation. For questions about our guidelines or our partnership, please contact licenses@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
