Hegseth Claims Iran’s ‘Regime Has Been Changed’ Amid Shaky Ceasefire

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth claimed Wednesday that Iran is under a new regime with a “new calculus” about negotiating with the United States, just a day after President Donald Trump threatened total destruction over the nation’s intractability.

Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday evening, just before the deadline for Iran to agree to terms was set to expire. In a subsequent Truth Social post, Trump stated that Iran has “gone through what will be a very productive Regime Change,” and will now be working closely with the United States. At a Wednesday press briefing, Hegseth was asked about the comments and whether the current Iranian leadership is actually a “new” and different regime than what was in place before Operation Epic Fury.

“Both you, Mr. Secretary, and the President have referred to a new regime in Iran,” the reporter asked. “So, is this not the regime that was at war with us for 47 years and how do we, what do we think of when we’re saying that 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 watching it, we know exactly what they have, and they know that, and they will either give it to us, which the president has laid out, 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 like that, we reserve that opportunity,” Hegseth responded.

During the opening statement of his briefing, Hegseth listed numerous top officials in the regime who have been 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). Iran’s Assembly of Experts