Donald Trump Expresses Opposition to Regime Change In Iran

Will the Israel First lobby try to change Trump’s stance on this issue?

During an October 16, 2024 appearance on the PBD Podcast, former President Donald Trump expressed his opposition to regime change in Iran. The host Patrick Bet-David asked the former president if he wants to use American state power to executive regime change in Iran and restore the Shah (Iranian emperor). 

Reza Pahlavi, the oldest son of the last Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was the crown prince of Imperial Iran and is currently the founder and leader of the National Council of Iran. He is a firm critic of the Islamic Republic government and is seen as a figure that neoconservatives and Israel First types would like to install in power should the current regime in Iran be toppled. 

“We can’t get totally involved at all, you know. We can’t run ourselves, let’s face it,” Trump stated.  

During the interview, Trump manifested his desire for Iran to be successful, but is against Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. 

“The real threat isn’t global warming. The real threat is nuclear warming,” Trump stated. “The power [of nuclear weapons] is obliteration.”

Trump also signaled at pursuing a different set of policies with respect to Iran in a potential second term. “Different strategies, it all depends—very fertile mind, very different strategies,” Trump said in response to a question about how he would handle relations with Iran during a second term. 

Overall, Trump’s instincts are generally correct here. His foreign policy priorities should only be focused on securing the US’s southern border with Mexico and keeping external actors out of the Western Hemisphere. The last thing Trump needs to do is follow a foreign policy that bows down to the interests of neoconservative and Israel First interest groups.