The High Cost and Historic Pitfalls of U.S. Regime Change in Iran

President Donald Trump’s swift call for regime change in Iran after recent U.S. and Israeli airstrikes seems straightforward: weaken the government, embolden dissenters, and support a transition to a freer, friendlier leadership. Yet history tells a far more complex story—one where good intentions collide with geopolitical realities, often at America’s expense. Can Washington Really Control What Comes Next? Over decades, U.S. interventions from Vietnam to Venezuela have demonstrated the perils of trying to engineer foreign governments. The 1953 CIA-backed coup that installed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in Tehran ultimately laid the groundwork for the Islamic Revolution of 1979—a stark reminder...