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President Donald Trump has said he believed regime change in Iran was a realistic possibility when the US and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury, but acknowledged he underestimated the Iranian leadership’s willingness to violently suppress dissent.

Speaking during an interview with Fox News, Trump was asked about his televised address to the Iranian people on the opening night of the operation, when he had urged them to overthrow their government after military operations concluded.

Responding to whether he still believed Iranians could take control of their country, Trump said fear of state repression had prevented an uprising. “I think they’re afraid they’re being shot.”

Pressed on whether he genuinely believed regime change was achievable at the outset of the campaign, Trump replied, “Yeah, I did. If they had guns, if they had weapons, I had no idea that they would be willing to kill 52,000, or even any, people.”

“I thought regime change in Iran was possible when we started Epic Fury. I had no idea that the Iranian regime would be willing to kill 52,000, or even any, people,” Trump added.

Trump had explicitly appealed to the Iranian public when announcing Operation Epic Fury earlier this year, telling citizens that once military operations were over, they should “take over your government” and promising that “America is backing you with overwhelming strength.” The operation was launched jointly with Israel, with the stated objective of dismantling Iran’s military capabilities, preventing it from obtaining nuclear weapons and weakening the country’s leadership.

In recent weeks, however, the Trump administration’s messaging has increasingly focused on military pressure and negotiations rather than public calls for regime change. The US has intensified strikes on Iranian military infrastructure while warning Tehran that attacks could expand unless it returns to the negotiating table and guarantees freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

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