Donald Trump is Not interested In Pursuing Regime Change Against Iran
Will subversive Israel First neocons derail a second Trump administration.
During an CNN interview on November 7, 2024, Brian Hook, the former Iran envoy for the Trump administration, indicated that the second Trump administration will not be looking to pursue regime change against Iran.
Hook is currently leading the transition team at the State Department. He stated that the Trump administration’s goal is to isolate Iran diplomatically and weaken its economy, suggesting that the Trump administration will likely be pursuing a tough sanctions strategy against the Islamic Republic.
"President Trump has no interest in regime change in Iran. The future of Iran will be decided by the Iranian people," he stated. "But Trump would isolate Iran diplomatically and weaken them economically so that they can't fund all of the violence that's going with the Houthis in Yemen, Hamas, Hezbollah and these proxies that run around Iraq and Syria today, all of whom destabilize Israel and our (Persian) Gulf partners."
Hook views Iran as the main driver of instability in the region and said if the Trump administration opts to pursue measures against Iran, other Gulf Arab countries in the region will allegedly team up with the US and Israel. In Trump’s first administration, Hook was the US special envoy for Iran.
After Trump's victory on November 5, Iran's Vice President for Strategic Affairs Javad Zarif manifested his optimism that President-elect Trump and Vice-president-elect Vance "will stand against war as pledged and will heed the clear lesson given by the American electorate to end wars and prevent new ones."
"Iran, having shown its resolve and ability to stand up to any aggression, will not be swayed by threats, but will be cognizant of respect," Zarif added.
In his first administration, Trump pursued a maximum pressure campaign against Iran, which culminated in the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani in 2020. However, this strategy did very little to diminish Iran’s influence in the Middle East. In response to the US’s sanctions campaign and escalation, Iran has only strengthened its ties with countries such as Russia and China, which have been financially and militarily backstopping it, thus making it more resilient in the face of Western sanctions.
Trump needs to remember what brought him to dance, which was immigration restriction, economic nationalism, and a restrained foreign policy. Trump would be wise to ignore the Zionist voices in his administration that want him to go off course and pursue dangerous escalations abroad.
Instead, Trump’s energy should be fully focused on securing the southern border with Mexico and making sure the Western Hemisphere is geopolitically secure and economically prosperous.