(JNS) – Regime change in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen,” U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday, a day after the Pentagon sent a second aircraft carrier group to the Middle East from Venezuela.
Trump told reporters following an event at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, “For 47 years, they’ve [the Islamic Republic] been talking and talking and talking. In the meantime, we’ve lost a lot of lives while they talk. Legs blown off, arms blown off, faces blown off. This has been going on for a long time so let’s see what happens.
“In the meantime, tremendous power has arrived. An additional power, as you know, an additional carrier is going out.
#BREAKING: President Trump today said regime change in #Iran “would be the best thing that could happen. For 47 years, they’ve been talking and talking and talking. In the meantime, we’ve lost a lot of lives while they talk. Legs blown off, arms blown off, faces blown off. We’ve… pic.twitter.com/SVtF3MDaU8
— Jason Brodsky (@JasonMBrodsky) February 13, 2026
Also on Friday, Reuters cited two U.S. officials as saying that the American military is preparing for the possibility of sustained, weeks-long operations against the Islamic Republic if Trump gives the order to attack.
The additional carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, will join the USS Abraham Lincoln already stationed in the Gulf region, boosting American forces with additional fighter aircraft, guided-missile destroyers and other firepower, the report continued.
The military planning underway is more complex than that for the U.S. strikes on the Iranian nuclear facilities in June, the unnamed officials said.
A campaign this time around would involve state and security facilities, they added.
The U.S. maintains bases throughout the Middle East, including in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. A prolonged campaign against the Iranians would probably involve back-and-forth strikes by the belligerent sides, the report stated.
Speaking to U.S. soldiers in North Carolina on Friday, Trump relayed that it had been “difficult” to forge a nuclear agreement with Tehran.
“Sometimes you have to have fear. That’s the only thing that really will get the situation taken care of,” Reuters quoted the president as saying.
On Feb. 17, U.S.-Iran negotiations are expected to continue in Geneva in the attempt to prevent war, Axios reported on Saturday, citing a U.S. official and three sources with knowledge of the matter.
The sources said that U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will be present in the talks, while the Iranian delegation will be led by the country’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
The report cited Trump as telling reporters on Friday that while the Iranians have expressed willingness to negotiate, they have not given any indications that they are willing to take action with regard to their nuclear project.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to Bloomberg News on Saturday, vowing that Iran will never be allowed to have nuclear weapons. The military buildup in the Middle East is to “ensure that they don’t make a mistake and come after us and trigger something larger,” he continued.
“Beyond that, the president has said that his preference is to reach a deal with Iran. That’s very hard to do, but he’s going to try. And that’s what we’re trying to do right now, and Steve Witkoff and Jared have some meetings lined up fairly soon. We’ll see if we can make any progress,” Rubio stated.
Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last shah of Iran, called on Thursday for Iranians abroad to take to the streets on Feb. 14 in support “for Iran’s Lion and Sun Revolution,” referencing the emblem on the Iranian flag before the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
He addressed Iranians directly, praising their steadfast resolve to reclaim their country despite the Islamic regime’s “brutality and murder.” He urged them to “raise your voices and chant from your homes and rooftops” at 8 p.m. on Feb. 14 and 15 in a show of unity ahead of “our final victory.”
The Islamist regime has continued its crackdown on Iranians, the Associated Press reported on Saturday.
“Reports of raids on homes and workplaces have come from major cities and rural towns alike,” with arrests of university students, doctors, lawyers, teachers, actors, business owners, athletes and filmmakers, as well as reformist figures close to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, AP reported.
Those detained have been prevented from contacting relatives and lawyers.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (Hrana) has put the number of arrests at more than 50,000.
Estimates of the magnitude of the killings that took place last month in the wake of nationwide protests are varied, with rights groups reporting several thousands to tens of thousands. Tehran has admitted that more than 3,000 people have been killed.
According to the Human Right Activists News Agency, as of Friday, the number of confirmed fatalities has reached 7,008, including 6,509 recorded under the category of “protesters.” Another 11,730 cases remain under review. The number of injured civilians has reached 25,845.