Trump says Iran's "new regime" is more moderate, but experts state that the Iranian regime has not changed and is actually more hardline.

ME News update, April 4 (UTC+8). This week, U.S. President Trump said Iran’s new leadership is “more moderate and more rational.” Trump and the Pentagon have repeatedly claimed that a regime change has already taken place. But most political scientists and analysts believe that the so-called regime change should mean that external forces alter a country’s governance approach, rather than merely replacing the leaders of the system. Instead, this war has strengthened the power of Iran’s hardline military faction and intensified anti-U.S. sentiment. Mona Yacoubian, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said: “This regime is more hawkish, less inclined to compromise, and frankly, its ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are more direct. We saw Iran’s top leader at the time be ‘decapitated’ and removed, but that did not translate into power being reassigned or a major change in its stance toward the United States.” (Source: PANews)