DeSantis criticizes Iran war: Regime change cannot be imposed by the US

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said on Saturday that the ongoing military campaign against Iran lacked a clearly defined objective and sufficient public support, warning that efforts to bring down the Iranian regime could leave the United States entangled in a prolonged conflict. Speaking at the Notre Dame Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government, DeSantis argued that the operation had gone beyond targeting Iran's nuclear infrastructure and had instead sought to overthrow the country's leadership without a realistic plan for what would follow.

“I think what happened this year was an attempt to cause the regime to collapse. Israel went and they took out the Ayatollah. They took out clerics. There were US strikes, obviously. And I think the goal was that the regime’s got to collapse and then something new would take its place," he said. “Now, the problem with that is that all the people that had been protesting in January were all dead by the time they did it in late February.

And so that was done - that was a decapitation strike. That’s like the point of no return, right? I mean, once you do that, it’s like, how do you bring it to a successful conclusion?" the Florida Governor continued. DeSantis distinguished the current campaign from Operation Midnight Hammer, the June 2025 American strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, which he said he continued to support. He argued that expanding the mission from eliminating specific threats to pursuing regime change had created difficulties that could not be resolved through military force alone.

“This time, I think the goal - certainly from Israel - was that you’d have a regime change in Iran. Now, that’s not something that we’re going to be able to impose. That would require massive amounts of boots on the ground, massive amounts of treasure, that the American people are not interested in providing. And so that’s why I think the second time has caused more problems in terms of public acceptance and all these other things." The Florida governor also questioned whether the Iranian leadership would have any incentive to negotiate a settlement following the elimination of the country's supreme leader and other senior officials.

“Once the Ayatollah is taken out, once these clerics [are targeted]… I think their goal was to have the government collapse, and that didn’t happen. So now the people that are there probably are more powerful than they were prior to this. And what incentive do they have to kind of do some type of deal? And you’re like, ‘Oh, just negotiate a deal.’ Wait a minute. You took out the Supreme Leader. They view us as the Great Satan. So my fear is that it’s going to kind of drag on and continue to be a sore spot, given the trajectory it’s gone."

DeSantis further criticized what he described as inconsistent explanations from senior Trump administration officials regarding the purpose of the military campaign. “I think this time has been… you’ve got to know: What are you trying to accomplish? What’s the concrete objective? Are you going to do it, and (be able to) say, ‘We accomplished the objective?’ There was never really a concrete (plan). Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said one thing.

The Secretary of State (said) something else. The Vice President… they all said a little bit different when this was launched. And that’s been part of the problem," DeSantis added. His remarks came amid speculation about his political future following a Washington Post report suggesting that he was considering another presidential campaign , potentially putting him in competition with Vice President JD Vance. According to the newspaper, DeSantis had approached at least one national political consultant to discuss a possible run.

A close adviser also reportedly distributed fundraising messages during the week, which one source characterized as "a sign of his intention to run in the election." DeSantis rejected the report outright, denying that he had taken any steps toward seeking another elected office. " The Washington Post is making this entire story up out of thin air. I have not contacted anyone about running for any office," he wrote on social media. "This is just another pathetic attempt to get clicks, all while using anonymous sources, of course!"