Regime Change, published this week, portrays a president who continued to believe diplomacy remained possible almost until the operation began.
Yet as negotiations stalled, he grew increasingly convinced Iran was vulnerable, repeatedly telling advisers he had "a good feeling" about striking and, according to the authors Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman, wanted to "wipe out the regime and figure out the details later."
Drawing on interviews with senior administration officials, the book reconstructs the White House debate over diplomacy, regime change and military action, including a CIA assessment that Ali Khamenei could likely be targeted if the United States decided to strike him.
The book says Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner continued negotiating with Iranian officials in Oman and Switzerland almost until the attack.
Among the proposals was an offer to supply Iran with free nuclear fuel for the lifetime of its civilian program, intended to test whether Tehran’s insistence on uranium enrichment was driven by energy needs or by a desire to preserve a possible pathway to a nuclear weapon.
Witkoff and Kushner ultimately concluded Iran was "playing games" and dragging out negotiations in the hope of outlasting Trump's presidency, convincing Trump that diplomacy had reached its limits.
At the same time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was urging Trump to act, arguing Iran was unusually vulnerable and that the opportunity to strike might not last.
The book says Netanyahu presented Trump with a four-part plan: eliminate Iran's senior leadership, dismantle its military, topple the Islamic Republic and pave the way for a successor government.
As part of the pitch, Netanyahu showed Trump a video outlining how a post-Islamic Republic transition could unfold and identified figures he believed could help lead a new government, including Iranian exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi.
Trump was captivated by the presentation. But while he appeared persuaded that the first two objectives were achievable, he remained less convinced the latter stages would materialize.
Trump concluded that broader questions about regime change would be "their problem," though the book does not clarify whether he was referring to Israel, the Iranian people or another party. Instead, they write, Trump remained focused on what he believed were achievable military objectives: targeting Iran's leadership and dismantling its military capabilities.
Senior members of Trump’s national security team were deeply skeptical of Netanyahu’s vision for regime change. CIA Director John Ratcliffe reportedly called the scenario “farcical,” and Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed it outright, cutting in: "In other words, it's bullshit."
The Final Situation Room
One of the book’s most striking scenes comes in the final Situation Room meeting before the attack, when Ratcliffe briefed Trump on intelligence suggesting Iran’s senior leadership was expected to gather at Khamenei’s compound in Tehran.
If regime change simply meant killing Khamenei, Ratcliffe reportedly told the president, “we can probably do that.”
The account also describes sharp divisions inside Trump’s national security team.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine warned that a prolonged conflict could drain US weapons stockpiles, strain missile interceptor inventories already supporting Ukraine and Israel, put American forces at risk and complicate efforts to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.
Vice President JD Vance repeated his opposition to military action, but told Trump he would support the president’s decision if he chose to proceed.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who favored continuing “maximum pressure” on Iran, argued against making regime change the objective. “If our goal is regime change or an uprising, we shouldn’t do it,” he said, adding that destroying Iran’s missile program was “a goal we can achieve.”
The authors write that Trump listened to each adviser before reaching his decision.
"I think we need to do it," he concluded.
According to the book, Trump gave the final order the following afternoon while travelling to Texas.
Seventeen days into the war, the authors describe finding Trump in the Oval Office with printouts of maple trees spread across the Resolute Desk instead of military maps.
“I’m ordering trees for the White House,” Trump told them. “I know how to buy good trees. Maples.”
For months, analysts have debated whether Trump always intended to strike Iran or whether diplomacy served primarily as a delaying tactic.
Regime Change presents a more complicated picture: a president who kept negotiations alive almost until the eve of military action, increasingly trusted his instincts over some advisers’ warnings, and ultimately chose to strike while leaving unresolved what would come next.
