"Regime Change Involves Chaos"
Criticizes Spain for Opposing NATO Defense Spending Increase
On June 24 (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he does not seek regime change in Iran, which has entered into a ceasefire with Israel.
According to major foreign news agencies including Reuters, President Trump, aboard his private plane en route to The Hague, Netherlands, where the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit is being held, said, "Regime change involves chaos," and added, "We do not want great chaos." He further stated, "I hope all situations will calm down as soon as possible."
On the same day, Iran and Israel entered into a ceasefire. President Trump declared the ceasefire at 1 a.m. Eastern Time, and Israel also officially confirmed the ceasefire between the two countries.
President Trump's remarks on this day differ from his previous stance on June 22, the day after the United States attacked Iran's nuclear facilities, when he suggested the possibility of regime change in Iran. At that time, through his self-created social networking service (SNS) Truth Social, he said, "Using the term 'regime change' may not be politically correct, but if the current Iranian regime cannot make Iran great again, why wouldn't there be regime change?" This led to speculation that, contrary to the official position of the U.S. administration, President Trump was in fact pursuing regime change in Iran.
President Trump also told reporters on this day that Iran will not possess nuclear weapons. He added that Russian President Vladimir Putin called and offered to help resolve the Iran issue.
Additionally, regarding the agreement among North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states to increase defense spending, he raised an issue with Spain for claiming an exception. NATO member states have agreed to raise their defense spending to 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035, but Spain claims it has been exempted from this goal. President Trump expressed his dissatisfaction by pointing out Spain's claim for an exception.
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