Senior Trump officials say US attacks on Iran ‘not about regime change’

United States Vice President JD Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth person said that the US is not seeking to topple the authorities successful Iran via “regime change” and is not astatine warfare with the state successful the aftermath of its unprecedented surprise attack overnight connected 3 of Iran’s atomic sites.

The comments connected Sunday followed Washington, DC joining Israel’s strikes connected its arch-foe, which person been met by regular retaliatory strikes from Iran and are present successful their 10th day.

Vance said connected Sunday that the US had successfully acceptable backmost Iran’s nuclear programme, adding that US President Donald Trump present hopes to prosecute a diplomatic solution.

Speaking connected the NBC News amusement Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, helium maintained his state was “not astatine warfare with Iran, we’re astatine warfare with Iran’s atomic programme”.

“We bash not privation to protract this oregon physique this retired immoderate much than it’s already been built out. We privation to extremity their atomic programme,” Vance said, adding: “We privation to speech to the Iranians astir a semipermanent colony here.”

Meanwhile, Hegseth claimed the bid of US strikes against Iran “devastated” its atomic programme, arsenic helium asserted Washington was not seeking “regime change” successful Tehran.

There has been nary autarkic confirmation of however heavy the US strikes impacted the sites, oregon Tehran’s atomic efforts, which it has repeatedly said are for civilian purposes only.

The Pentagon main urged Iran’s leaders to find an off-ramp to the struggle aft Trump announced the strikes connected a cardinal underground uranium enrichment tract astatine Fordow, on with atomic facilities successful Isfahan and Natanz.

Hegseth told a Pentagon property briefing that the cognition “did not people Iranian troops oregon the Iranian people”.

“I tin lone corroborate that determination are some nationalist and backstage messages being delivered to the Iranians successful aggregate channels, giving them each accidental to travel to the table,” Hegseth added successful the quality league with General Dan Caine, the president of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“This ngo was not, and has not, been astir authorities change,” helium said.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said earlier that the US strikes connected his state person blown up immoderate anticipation of diplomacy and powerfully intimated a effect was successful gestation.

During an code to a gathering of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) successful Istanbul connected Sunday, Araghchi said the US crossed “a precise large reddish line” by attacking Iran’s atomic facilities.

Trump’s involution – contempt his past pledges to debar different “forever war” – threatens to dramatically widen the struggle aft Israel launched an unprecedented bombing run against Iran past week, with Tehran vowing to retaliate if Washington joined in.

The US and Iran had been engaged successful aggregate rounds of atomic talks brokered by Oman earlier Israel launched a onslaught connected Iran, unconditionally supported by the US, earlier this month.

‘Bombers took disconnected from US’

Standing alongside Hegseth, Caine said that an appraisal of the demolition sustained astatine Iran’s atomic facilities volition instrumentality clip to confirm.

“I deliberation PDA [preliminary harm assessment] is inactive pending and it would beryllium mode excessively aboriginal for maine to remark connected what oregon what whitethorn not inactive beryllium there,” helium said. He confirmed B-2 bombers were launched from the US connected Friday for an 18-hour formation to their targets for the “strike package”.

“Operation Midnight Hammer” included respective “deception and decoy” manoeuvres. High-speed suppression occurrence was utilized to support the B-2s, and Caine said there’s nary denotation “any shots were fired” by Iranian defences.

“Iran’s fighters did not alert and it appears Iran’s rocket systems did not spot us,” Caine said.

He declined to remark connected circumstantial moves taken to support US troops based successful the Middle East from imaginable Iranian retaliation.

“Our associated unit remains acceptable to support the United States – our troops and our interests successful the region,” said Caine.

Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, said Hegseth gave a precise wide connection connected behalf of the US that this is not an open-ended operation, though determination was a informing that portion it is intentionally limited, the capabilities of the US subject are not.

“What is wide is this was a well-coordinated operation,” Fisher said.

“But arsenic we heard from the president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, they evidently inactive person to get afloat quality from the site, and this volition instrumentality immoderate time,” Fisher said. “So they don’t cognize whether it has been a immense success. But what it does bash is nonstop a existent message.”

Separately, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CBS determination were nary planned subject operations against Iran astatine the moment.

‘No fatalities’ successful Iranian sites

Trump announced that the US forces struck 3 Iranian atomic sites successful a “very palmy attack” overnight into Sunday.

“We person completed our precise palmy onslaught connected the 3 Nuclear sites successful Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan,” Trump posted connected Truth Social.

Trump’s determination to articulation Israel’s subject run against Iran has escalated an already intensive struggle and threatens a imaginable all-out determination war.

The caput of Iran’s Red Crescent Society, Pir Hossein Kolivand, said determination were nary fatalities successful the US strikes connected the atomic facilities, according to Iranian authorities television.

On Saturday, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country’s close to prosecute a civilian atomic programme “cannot beryllium taken away… by threats oregon war”. Tehran denies seeking an atomic bomb.

Trump has stepped up his rhetoric against Iran since Israel archetypal struck Iran connected June 13, repeating his insistence that it could ne'er person atomic weapons. He seemed to beryllium uncertain of whether to determination militarily, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to person been 1 of the cardinal voices helium was attuned to.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Scott Lucas, a prof of US and planetary authorities astatine University College Dublin, said the crushed Trump decided to onslaught Iran aft appearing to opt for diplomacy until precocious was “Because Donald Trump got played by the Israelis; immoderate mightiness accidental manipulated.”