Trump Claims Iran's "New Regime" Is More Moderate, Experts Say Regime Has Not Changed and Is More Hardline

Odaily News According to U.S. President Trump this week, Iran's new leadership is "more moderate and more rational." Trump and the Pentagon have repeatedly claimed that a regime change has occurred. However, most political scientists and analysts believe that so-called regime change should refer to an external force altering a country's governance, not merely replacing the leader of the system. On the contrary, the war has instead strengthened the power of Iran's hardline military factions and intensified anti-American sentiment. Mona Yacoubian, Director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, stated: "This regime is more hawkish, less inclined to compromise, and frankly, more directly linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. We saw the 'decapitation-style' removal of Iran's supreme leader at the time, but this did not translate into a significant change in the power structure or its stance towards the United States." (Jin10)