Not Iran, Trump’s USA Is Seeing Regime Change, US To Leave Iran ‘Pretty Quickly’ And Return If Needed

3rd April 2026 at 4:51 PM

2 minutes read

Tehran : The forcible overthrow of a foreign government, was repeatedly floated as one of the goals of the Trump administration’s war against Iran. Now, that regime change is finally arriving, but not in Tehran. Since the conflict began on February 28, more and more of President Donald Trump’s closest aides and Cabinet members have been shown the door or are expected to bite the dust soon.

But it’s not just civilian heads that are rolling. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is targeting top officers of the US Armed Forces, which seems to have gained new momentum after the commencement of hostilities with Iran. It is the same Hegseth on whom Trump tried to shift the blame for the Iran war. Trump is no stranger to cutting loose loyalists. In his first term, he famously fired chief strategist Steve Bannon and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, among others.

According to The Atlantic, President Trump began his second term reluctant to fire close aides and cabinet members, viewing it as a concession to Democrats and the media. That stance has now shifted. From the immigration issue to the Epstein Files to the war against Iran, the reasons are multifold. Since the Iran war began, Trump’s approval rating has plunged. The Economist reported this week that his net approval has fallen to negative 20–23 points among all Americans.

The next Trump acolyte to bite the dust turned out to be the president’s loyal attorney general, Pam Bondi. “Pambi”, as Bondi was nicknamed, had been one of the administration’s most ardent defenders, and aggressively reshaped the Justice Department to target the administration’s perceived enemies.

Even as the White House prepares to expand its purge of its top ranks, a separate purge, put in motion beforehand, has found a new lease of life following the outbreak of the Iran war. Since his appointment as Secretary of Defence (later rebranded as Secretary of War), Pete Hegseth, nicknamed “Dumb McNamara” by some Pentagon staffers, has aggressively sought to reshape the US Armed Forces. His mission, purge what he calls “woke” and DEI elements in favour of a harder “warrior ethos”.

The Atlantic reported, however, that many of the ousted officers were closely tied to Army Secretary Dan Driscoll —the target of a personal vendetta by Hegseth, fuelled by rumours that Driscoll was positioned to replace him after the Signalgate scandal (in which The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was inadvertently added to a top-secret Signal group chat).

The timing, however, coincides with mounting evidence that US objectives are slipping: Iranian missile production has been degraded but not eliminated, the Iranian navy lies in ruins, yet Tehran’s proxies continue harassing shipping, and the Strait of Hormuz remains choked. Reports from The Atlantic, Politico, and The Guardian suggest several more Trump loyalists could soon be shown the door.