The US Secretary of Defense claimed that the United States did not attack Iran with the goal of causing a regime change, and also asserted that the US did not start the war because Iran has been attacking the US for a long time.
On Monday, 2 Mar 2026 GMT+7, Pete Hegseth, the US Secretary of Defense, said that the US decision to attack Iran was not intended to bring about a change in Iran's regime, although he acknowledged that the leadership in Tehran has indeed changed.
“This is not a war to change the regime, but the regime has truly changed, and the world is better for it,” Hegseth said.
However, recently, US President Donald Trump has consistently pushed for regime change in Iran, and in his first comments after the attacks began on Saturday (28 Mar), Trump urged the Iranian people to “take control of their destiny and unleash the bright and glorious future that is within reach.”
Additionally, the Secretary of Defense argued that the US “did not start the war,” citing that Iran has been conducting attacks for decades in what he called a “one-sided war against America.”
“We did not start this war, but under President Trump's leadership, we are working to end it,” Hegseth added.
The US Secretary of Defense also emphasized that Iran's nuclear ambitions “must be addressed” because those ambitions “have never ceased” since the US attacked Iran's nuclear facilities in June last year.
“Therefore, this is a clear objective of what we are doing — to ensure they cannot use the cover of tactical weapons as a shield to continue pursuing their nuclear ambitions.”
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Source:cnn