If President Donald Trump could have his way, someone new would be ruling Iran.
During a North Carolina trip on Friday, the president — who has pursued a carrot-and-stick approach to Iran on its nuclear program — was asked if he wanted regime change in Iran.
“Seems like that would be the best thing that could happen,” he said, according to the New York Post.
“For 47 years, they’ve been talking and talking and talking. In the meantime, we’ve lost a lot of lives while they talk,” he said.
“Legs blown off, arms blown off, faces blown off. We’ve been going on for a long time. So let’s see what happens. Who would you want to take over?” Trump said.
Trump noted that the Middle East now has American military might that could attack Iran and defend American and allied positions.
“Tremendous power has arrived, and additional power, as you know, and other carriers going out shortly,” Trump said.
Earlier, Trump said he thought talks with Iran will “be successful.”
“And if they’re not, it’s going to be a bad day for Iran, very bad,” he said, according to The Hill.
On Friday, the USS Gerald R. Ford, America’s newest aircraft carrier, was ordered to the Middle East, according to The Washington Post.
Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said extending the Ford’s deployment is a likely precursor to action.
The U.S. has amassed an armada in the Middle East, with the destroyers USS Bulkeley and USS Roosevelt in the eastern Mediterranean Sea where they could respond if Iran answers an American attack with one on Israel.
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and three destroyers are in the Arabian Sea.
Although Trump indicated last month that he wanted to attack Iran, he stood down from that threat, at least before there were more U.S. forces moved into the region.
“Defensively, we’ve got to make sure, before we do anything” that troops can be protected, Gen. Joseph Votel, a former commander of United States Central Command, said, according to The New York Times.
“So we are prepared for the inevitable response that comes back against U.S. interests or against our partners,” he said.
Collectively, the U.S. has eight guided missile destroyers, submarines that can launch Tomahawk cruise missiles, and anti-missile defenses in place.
But preparation also extends beyond the region.
B-2s and other long-range bombers based in the United States are on an elevated alert status, a senior U.S. official said.
The USS Abraham Lincoln’s F-35 fighters and F/A-18 attack planes are within range if Trump wants to attack Iran. More than a dozen additional F-15E attack planes have been sent to the region as tensions with Iran have risen.
Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., a retired four-star Marine general and former head of U.S. Central Command, said Iran takes Trump seriously.
“The Iranians fear Trump because he killed Suleimani and he hit their nuclear sites,” he said. “They’re scared of him because he takes direct action.”
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