JAKARTA - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said regime change in Iran is "much more complex" than recent attempts to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
"I imagine it will be much more complex than we are describing now, because you are talking about a regime that has been in power for a very long time," Rubio told lawmakers during a Senate hearing on Venezuela.
"So it would require a lot of careful thought, if that possibility were to arise," he continued.
Rubio described the US military presence in the Middle East primarily as defensive, saying there were about 30,000 to 40,000 American troops stationed at eight or nine facilities.
He said the troops are within range of thousands of Iranian short-range ballistic missiles, underlining the need to "preemptively deter" potential attacks on American troops and US allies in the region.
"We must have sufficient strength and power in this region, at least as a basis for defending against that possibility," he said.
"We also have security agreements, Israel's defense plan and others, which require a posture of strength in the region to defend against it," he said.
Rubio also said the regime in Iran "may be weaker" than before, accusing Tehran of failing to address the "core grievances" of the protesters, which he said were "their economy is collapsing."
He added that protests would return in the future unless the Iranian government was willing to change or step down.
Rubio's statement followed US President Donald Trump's statement that a "big armada" was heading to Iran, and he expressed hope that Tehran would "come to the negotiating table" to negotiate with Washington.
Iran has been rocked by a wave of protests since December 28 in Tehran's Grand Bazaar, due to the sharp depreciation of the Iranian rial and the worsening economic conditions. Demonstrations then spread to several cities.
Officials accused the US and Israel of supporting "armed rioters" to create a pretext for foreign intervention and warned any US attack would trigger a "swift and comprehensive" response.
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