U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis: U.S. Not Pursuing Regime Change, Collapse In Iran

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis testifies before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the “Defense Department budget posture in review of the Defense Authorization Request for FY2019 and the Future Years Defense Program” on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 26, 2018. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

Reuters: U.S. not pursuing regime change, collapse in Iran: Mattis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has not instituted a policy of regime change or collapse in Iran, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Friday, saying the goal was still to curb what Washington sees as Iran's threatening behavior in the Middle East.

Mattis made his comments after days of back-and-forth bellicose rhetoric between Iranian and U.S. officials, with President Donald Trump promising dire consequences for Iran if it continues to make threats toward the United States.

Asked at the Pentagon whether the Trump administration had instituted a policy of regime change or collapse toward Iran, Mattis said, "There's none that's been instituted."

"We need them to change their behavior on a number of threats that they can pose with their military, with their secret services, with their surrogates and with their proxies," Mattis told reporters during an off-camera briefing.

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WNU Editor: Media reports are telling an opposite story .... Senior Trump Advisers Believe It’s Possible to Hasten Collapse of Iranian Regime (Haaretz).