The walls could be closing in on the Iranian regime as President Donald Trump says the country is looking to de-escalate the conflict with Israel.
Less than a week after Israel preemptively began its strike against the Islamic Republic, targeting its nuclear, military and government facilities, Iran appears to be showing signs that it is willing to return to the negotiating table over its nuclear program.
However, on Monday, the opening day of the G7 summit in Alberta, Canada, Trump told reporters that it may be too late for Iran to negotiate a deal.
“They’d like to talk but they should’ve done that before,” Trump told reporters. “They have to make a deal and it’s painful for both parties, but I’d say Iran is not winning this war.”
Trump is also showing no signs of signing a statement from the G7 summit calling for de-escalation between the two countries.
The president was asked about U.S. military involvement in the conflict but was unwilling to discuss it with reporters.
The comments come as a second U.S. aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz, is en route to the Middle East ahead of schedule, according to U.S. Naval Institute News. The oldest carrier in the U.S. fleet is expected to join the USS Carl Vinson in the U.S. Fifth Fleet, operating out of Bahrain.
The carriers typically move with strike groups normally comprised of multiple guided missile cruisers, anti-aircraft warships and anti-submarine destroyers, in addition to aircraft.
While Israel has received several hits from Iranian missiles, the Jewish state is showing no signs of slowing its targeted attack. Despite Trump’s reluctance to commit to American involvement, western influences are targeting the Iranian regime from within, using non-lethal means to expand the wedge between the Iranian-Khomeinist regime and the Persian people.
Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk announced that Starlink was activated in the Islamic Republic, allowing citizens to bypass the regime’s control and censorship on the internet.
In hopes that the Iranian people inside Iran can receive communications from the West, Reza Pahlavi, the exiled crown prince of Iran and son of the last Shah of Iran, living in the U.S., has sent messages to the Iranian people to resist the regime and to rise up. Pahlavi is one of the leading advocates for a secular, democratic Iran, advocating for freedom, especially women’s rights.
In April 2023, the deposed leader visited Israel, marking the most “prominent” Iranian figure to visit the Jewish state.
Pahlavi sent a video message to the leaders at the G7 summit supporting Israel, telling the leaders that regime change is the only answer.
“I think the world now has an opportunity to see that though Iranian people realize, and the world needs to realize, that the root cause of the problem has been the regime and its nature, and the only solution, ultimately that will benefit both the Iranian people as well as the free world is for this regime to no longer be there,” Pahlavi said.
“I’ve been arguing this point from the very beginning that the ultimate solution is regime change. Now we have an opportunity, because this regime is at its weakest point. There’s a window in which we can operate and hopefully liberate our country and the world can finally breathe a sigh of relief that they no longer have to fear nuclear threats, terrorism, radicalization,” said Pahlavi.
Trump’s attempts to punt a deeper involvement in the conflict could be a game of “wait and see” as the Iranian regime remains highly unpopular in Iran. A 2022 survey of Iranians by the Netherlands-based Gamaan Institute found that 81% of Iranians inside the country do not support the Islamic Republic. Only 15% responded with support and 4% were unsure.
Since Israel began its offensive on the Islamic Republic, it has eliminated several military leaders and nuclear scientists, in addition to key military and nuclear sites, handing a major blow to the regime.
Despite a reluctance to get involved militarily, the U.S. and Trump have warned the Islamic Republic not to target Americans, saying that if it did, it would be met with full force.
“If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
To be sure, neither the president or the administration have advocated for a regime change – rather keeping the door open for diplomatic resolve. In addition, according to reports, Trump vetoed plans by Israel to kill Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader.
