White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified Monday that President Donald Trump’s recent comments on regime change in Iran do not signal a shift in U.S. policy.
Speaking to reporters, Leavitt said, “The President’s posture and our military posture has not changed.” She explained that Trump was posing a rhetorical question during his Truth Social post, asking whether the Iranian people should rise up if their regime refuses to abandon its nuclear ambitions or engage in diplomacy.
The President was just simply raising a question that I think many people around the world are asking, if the Iranian regime refuses to give up their nuclear program or engage in talks … if they refuse to engage in diplomacy moving forward, why shouldn’t the Iranian people rise up against this brutal terrorist regime?
Karoline Leavitt
Leavitt also said that there has been both “public and private messages sent to the Iranians” since Saturday night.
“That’s a question the President raised last night,” Leavitt said. “But as far as our military posture, it hasn’t changed.”
Leavitt also confirmed that “public and private messages” have been sent to Tehran since Saturday, when Trump ordered airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites.
