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TRANSCRIPT
"I think we've had regime change. But you can't do much better than that. The regime that was really bad, really evil was the first one that was done. The second was appointed and they're gone. They're all dead, other than one who may have a little life in him. And then, they really are the third group and the third group of people that seem to be much more reasonable. It truly is regime change."
US President Donald Trump says regime change in Iran has been achieved.
But has it?
As more US troops arrive in the region, he says Iran's new leadership has been very reasonable.
Mr Trump says the US and Iran have been meeting both directly and indirectly.
The US President maintains they are in talks with Iran and that a deal is almost in sight, a claim Tehran denies.
Earlier this week, Pakistan said it was prepared to mediate talks between Tehran and Washington.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the US operation in Iran is well ahead of schedule.
Mr Rubio says they will achieve their objectives in what he describes as "a matter of weeks, not months".
In the ABC America interview, Mr Rubio said Donald Trump has several options at his disposal, and the Department of War is preparing for various other contingencies that might arise.
"The Iranians are threatening that they're going to set up some permanent system in the Strait of Hormuz where they get to decide who goes through international waterways. That will never be allowed to happen. By the way, the rest of the world should take note of that. They have more at stake there than we do.”
The US President earlier suggested that American troops could seize Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub.
And his repeated claims to be making diplomatic progress contrast with his ramping up of threats against Iran.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says the Iranian officials are appearing more reasonable behind the scenes' in talks.
"Despite all of the public posturing you hear from the regime and false reporting, talks are continuing and going well. What is said publicly is of course much different than what is being communicated to us privately. As a result, President Trump issued a 10-day pause to postpone planned strikes on power plants and energy infrastructure."
Earlier, Donald Trump had threatened to "obliterate" Iran's power plants, oil wells and "possibly" water desalination plants if a deal was not reached in what he described as "shortly".
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that the war on Iran had achieved more than half its aims, without putting a timeline on when it would end.
He told US broadcaster Newsmax "it's definitely beyond the halfway point" and that he doesn't "want to put a schedule on it".
Meanwhile in Australia, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the US President should acknowledge the economic damage caused by the war in the Middle East.
Mr Albanese told the ABC's 7.30 programme that the world needs to see an end point, and that he wants to see more certainty about the US objectives in Iran.
" I want to see any objective of what is to be achieved by further conflict rather than negotiation. And I want to see an end or a de-escalation, to the conflict there."
Mr Albanese says the original stated objective of the attack on Iran was to stop them getting a nuclear weapon - one that he says has been clearly achieved.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong says no one would have predicted that Iran would have reacted the way it did - striking some 12 countries within the first three days into the conflict.
She told ABC News it will be a good thing for the global economy and Australians if the talks lead to deescalation in the conflict.
"We want to see return to negotiations and deescalation. This conflict is having an enormous effect on global energy markets and on the global economy. And of course, on the Australian economy."
She says the point of the regime change that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been making is one that she has been making for weeks - that ultimately regime change is in the hands of the people in Iran.
"This is an unpredictable conflict, war is unpredictable - the question is how do the parties, how does the US navigate landing point out of this conflict that is acceptable to it and to the Iranians, and I think that is what the US is seeking to do."
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted the US military acts within the law, and it's time for Iran to make a deal.
"Of course, this administration and the United States Armed Forces will always act within the confines of the law, but with respect to achieving the full objectives of Operation Epic Fury, President Trump is going to move forward unabated, and he expects the Iranian regime to make a deal with the administration."
Ms Leavitt says the US President would also be interested in calling on Arab countries to pay for the cost of the Iran war.
From fresh strikes to escalating military attacks, its unclear if there is end in sight to the war in the Middle East.
But one thing is certain - it will take a while for stability to return in the region, and for the broader international community to recover from the impact to the global economy.
