GOP lawmakers split on US military intervention to fulfill Trump’s calls for regime change in Iran
Republicans are split on whether President Donald Trump should use military force in Iran to bring about the regime change he has called for.
While some Republicans would trust Trump to pull the trigger and stand ready to back him, others urged the administration to use force as a last resort.
Across the board, lawmakers said change is coming to Iran one way or the other. Rep. Mark Messmer, R-Ind., believes that with American economic and diplomatic pressure, it’s only a matter of time.
“It’s going to happen,” Messmer said.
IRAN REVOLUTIONARY GUARD COMMANDER SAYS REGIME HAS ‘FINGER ON THE TRIGGER’ AS US WARSHIPS HEAD TO MIDDLE EAST
“I think eventually the regime is not going to be able to keep a thumb on their people,” Messmer said.
The U.S. on Monday deployed the USS Abraham Lincoln to U.S. Central Command waters in the Indian Ocean, according to a senior U.S. official who spoke to Fox News on Monday. The move comes as Tehran’s government carried out a brutal crackdown in the country that left thousands dead earlier this month.
In its wake, Trump condemned the killing and called for regime change in Iran. Trump described a conversation with Iranian envoys, warning them about the consequences that would follow if they failed to stop the killings. “I said, ‘If you hang those people, you’re going to be hit harder than you’ve ever been hit,'” Trump said.
Questions remain about whether the president may see some form of American intervention as a way to precipitate that change amid the ongoing unrest.
Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, trusts Trump’s decision-making process and believes that the U.S. would be acting consistently with its own interests to apply military power in toppling Iran’s current government.
“You know what, I trust President Trump, I trust our military,” Babin said.
“It is time for a regime change. There was a red line established by President Trump. He means what he says, and he says what he means in plain English,” Babin said, referring to warnings Trump made to Iran’s leadership about killing protesters.
“I would not want to be one of the ayatollah’s brutal henchmen mowing down and brutalizing, torturing their own people,” Babin said.
Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., agreed with Babin, framing his stance as a way the U.S. could eliminate terror threats well beyond just Iran.
“Iran is the center of terrorism. They’ll fund anyone who goes against Israel and who goes against the United States of America. So, if you don’t think I would be for strategically bombing the leadership of the dictatorship that runs Iran, you would be mistaken,” Meuser said.
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Other lawmakers urged more caution.
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., believes force should come as a last resort.
“That should be the last option, but it needs to be taken as it comes right now. We need to actually understand the dynamics of why it would require military intervention,” Malliotakis said.
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Messmer believes that a change in leadership should come from the ground up.
“It really needs to come organically from the people of Iran. I mean, I think that, obviously, with the protests we’re seeing on the streets in Iran, there’s a high degree of interest. But at some point, they’ve got to take ownership and leadership,” Messmer said.
“Boots on the ground, you know, foreign intervention and costly overseas wars have been borne out to be pretty ineffective in the long run,” Messmer added.
Although lawmakers varied on their stances on military force, they all noted it wouldn’t be the first time Trump has ordered strikes on the country.
Rep. Rudy Yakym, R-Ind., believes Trump has proved that’s an option he’s willing to use when it comes to Tehran.
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“The president has long said that Iran could never have access to a nuclear weapon. Look at the decisive leadership that the president took against Iran to ensure that their access to nuclear weapons would be denied,” Yakym said, referring to the June 2025 American strike on Iran’s Fordow base, a nuclear enrichment facility Trump destroyed.
“And certainly, as we go forward, we will stand with the people of Iran,” Yakym added.
Iran regime reportedly issued nationwide shoot-to-kill orders as protest death toll surges
More and more brutal evidence of the Iranian regime’s crackdown on its own people is circulating online, as the true number of those killed in Iran’s protests remains hotly contested amid internet blackouts and state intimidation. Estimates range from the thousands confirmed dead to the tens of thousands feared killed, according to activists, media reports and medical data.
Fatemeh Jamalpour, an Iranian journalist who has covered every major protest movement over the past two decades, said the latest crackdown represents a turning point in the regime’s use of force. “The regime’s level of violence has increased dramatically, and with the internet crackdown, it is difficult to know the true scale of the killing.”
“The new thing I have seen in these protests, something we have not seen before, is that starting on the night of January 8, the regime issued shoot-to-kill orders to the IRGC, the Basij and the riot police, authorizing direct fire,” Jamalpour told Fox News Digital.
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“In previous protests, military-grade weapons were used mainly in minority provinces such as Kurdistan and Baluchestan,” she added. “This time they were used across the entire country… Health Ministry officials told us they ran out-of-body bags for the dead.”
The most widely cited baseline comes from the Human Rights Activists News Agency, or HRANA, a U.S.-based group that tracks deaths by name and location.
As of January 25, HRANA reported 5,848 people confirmed killed. Of these, 5,520 were protesters, 77 were children under 18, 209 were government-affiliated forces and 42 were non-protesters or civilians. The number of deaths still under investigation stands at 17,091.
The group has emphasized that its confirmed tally reflects only cases that could be independently documented, and that its overall figures are expected to rise as information continues to emerge.
According to The Associated Press, Iranian authorities have offered only one official count, 3,117, and have not updated it publicly in the last five days. Authorities have not released names, locations, or documentation to support that figure.
Beyond human rights tallies, a separate medical working paper reviewed by Fox News Digital suggests the death toll may be far higher.
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The report by Munich Med Group, authored by professor Dr. Amir-Mobarez Parasta, compiles hospital-registered fatalities from multiple Iranian cities and applies what the author describes as a conservative extrapolation model to account for underreporting during the communications blackout.
Using that methodology, the paper estimates a nationwide death toll of approximately 33,130 people as of January 23. The author stresses the figure is not a verified count, but a lower-bound estimate based on partial medical data and stated assumptions.
Iran International published its own investigation, claiming it reviewed documents indicating that more than 36,500 people were killed during two days of protests on January 8 and 9 alone. The outlet said the documents were provided by sources inside Iran, but the claims have not been independently verified.
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The wide gap between confirmed counts and higher estimates reflects not only the scale of violence, but also the conditions under which it occurred.
According to Jamalpour, despite the internet shutdown, doctors and medical workers attempted to document what they were seeing using limited satellite connections.
“Many doctors and medical staff tried to send us their accounts and documentation through small Starlink connections,” she said. “Medical workers say protesters were often shot in the head and neck, with intent to kill. Many were killed by multiple bullets. Some were shot from behind while trying to flee.”
Jamalpour said the victims she documented reflected a generation the regime appeared determined to crush. “Among the dead are children and a 67-year-old man, but most are young people under 30,” she said.
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Jamalpour described the killing of Mehdi Khanmohammadi, a 67-year-old retired army colonel and pilot. “He was killed on Friday, January 9, in Saadat Abad by two bullets,” she said. “In a video, his daughter stands over his lifeless body and says, ‘Can you open your eyes and wake up?’”
She said scenes like that have left the country in collective mourning. “These days, Iranians are in shock,” Jamalpour said. “There is grief everywhere.”
At the same time, she warned that the crackdown is far from over. “Lawyers and human rights organizations are deeply concerned about more than 20,000 protesters who have been detained and are at risk of execution,” she said.
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Yet even amid the fear, Jamalpour said she hears something new inside Iran. “In my conversations from inside the country, I hear people’s hope for Trump’s help in freeing Iran,” she said. “And a determination to change the regime, now intertwined with anger and grief.”
Zelenskyy says US security guarantees document is ‘100% ready’ for signing
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a long-anticipated document on U.S. security guarantees is “100% ready” for signing, with Kyiv now waiting for its American partners to confirm the date and place before the agreement moves to ratification in both the U.S. Congress and the Ukrainian parliament.
“For us, security guarantees are first and foremost guarantees of security from the United States. The document is 100% ready,” Zelenskyy said Sunday at a joint press conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, with the presidents of Lithuania and Poland, according to a translation of his remarks from Reuters.
Zelenskyy reiterated at the press conference that Ukraine views membership in the European Union as another core security guarantee and is aiming to join the bloc by 2027, the Ukrainian president’s office said in a statement on its website.
His remarks come after Ukraine, Russia and the United States held trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi for two days over the weekend.
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Zelenskyy said on X that the discussions, which involved political and military representatives from all three sides, were “constructive” and focused on potential parameters for ending his country’s war with Russia.
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The talks in the United Arab Emirates followed a meeting in Moscow on Thursday between Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and head of the Federal Acquisition Service Josh Gruenbaum.
Putin aide Yuri Ushakov said the “extremely frank” discussions lasted roughly four hours and included U.S. officials updating Moscow on their recent conversations with Ukrainian and European leaders, according to a summary of the meeting from the Kremlin.
Territorial issues remain a key obstacle in the negotiations, with Moscow pressing Kyiv to relinquish parts of eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region that Russian forces do not fully control.
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U.S. officials told Axios that negotiations examined the full range of unresolved issues, from Russia’s territorial demands in the Donbas to control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and potential steps to prevent a return to fighting.
Another U.S. official told the outlet a second round of talks is scheduled to take place on Feb. 1.
USS Abraham Lincoln Aircraft Carrier Strike Group makes move amid threat from Iran
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier has entered CENTCOM waters in the Indian Ocean amid increasing threats from Iran, a senior U.S. official told Fox News on Monday.
Reports say Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has gone underground, suggesting the country may be preparing for military action. A leading U.S. drone expert told Fox on Sunday that Iran’s drone swarms would pose a credible and serious threat to the Lincoln and its strike group.
The top U.S. official said the Lincoln was not yet ready for any possible future strikes against Iran.
Cameron Chell, CEO and co-founder of Draganfly, told Fox that Iran has created “an effective asymmetric threat against highly sophisticated military systems” with its fleet of unmanned drones, pairing “low-cost warheads with inexpensive delivery platforms.”
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Chell said Iran can launch large numbers of relatively unsophisticated drones directly at naval vessels, creating saturation attacks that could overwhelm traditional defenses.
“If hundreds are launched in a short period of time, some are almost certain to get through,” Chell said.
“Modern defense systems were not originally designed to counter that kind of saturation attack. For U.S. surface vessels operating near Iran, warships are prime targets,” he added.
IRAN REVOLUTIONARY GUARD COMMANDER SAYS REGIME HAS ‘FINGER ON THE TRIGGER’ AS US WARSHIPS HEAD TO MIDDLE EAST
U.S. officials say Washington is reinforcing its military posture in response to growing instability inside Iran, boosting its presence by air, land and sea, while closely monitoring developments in Syria.
A squadron of F-15 fighter jets has deployed to the region, and C-17 aircraft carrying heavy equipment have arrived.
Chell noted that U.S. and allied militaries are rapidly developing defenses but uncertainty over new capabilities on the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier groups for managing multiple Iranian drones flying in formation remains. He emphasized that Iran’s drone fleet is a concern.
“These drones give Iran a very credible way to threaten surface vessels,” he said. “U.S. assets in the region are large, slow-moving and easily identifiable on radar, which makes them targetable.”
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“Iran’s strength lies instead in these low-cost, high-volume drone systems — particularly one-way strike drones designed to fly into a target and detonate,” he said.
Iranian drone swarms pose ‘credible threat’ to USS Abraham Lincoln carrier group, defense expert says
U.S. military assets headed to the Middle East could face a serious threat from Iranian drone swarms as reports emerge that Iran’s supreme leader has gone underground, according to a leading military drone expert.
Cameron Chell, CEO and co-founder of Draganfly, warned that Iran’s growing reliance on low-cost unmanned systems poses a credible danger to high-value U.S. naval assets, including the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group.
“Iran’s drone capabilities are worth well into the tens of millions of dollars,” Chell told Fox News Digital.
“By pairing low-cost warheads with inexpensive delivery platforms, essentially remotely piloted aircraft, Iran has developed an effective asymmetric threat against highly sophisticated military systems.”
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Chell said Iran can launch large numbers of relatively unsophisticated drones directly at naval vessels, creating saturation attacks that could overwhelm traditional defenses.
“If hundreds are launched in a short period of time, some are almost certain to get through,” Chell said.
“Modern defense systems were not originally designed to counter that kind of saturation attack. For U.S. surface vessels operating near Iran, warships are prime targets.”
The warning comes as a senior U.S. official confirmed to Fox News Digital that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group had not yet crossed into U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility in the Indian Ocean.
“It is close, but technically not in CENTCOM yet,” the source said. This would indicate the carrier strike group is not yet in a position to strike Iran.
U.S. officials say Washington is reinforcing its military posture in response to growing instability inside Iran, boosting its presence by air, land and sea, while closely monitoring developments in Syria.
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A squadron of F-15 fighter jets has deployed to the region, and C-17 aircraft carrying heavy equipment have arrived.
Once the aircraft carrier strike group enters the CENTCOM area of operations, which should be soon, it will still take several days before the strike is fully on station.
Chell noted that U.S. and allied militaries are rapidly developing defenses but uncertainty over new capabilities on the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier groups for managing multiple Iranian drones flying in formation remains. He emphasized that Iran’s drone fleet is a concern.
“These drones give Iran a very credible way to threaten surface vessels,” he said. “U.S. assets in the region are large, slow-moving and easily identifiable on radar, which makes them targetable.”
“Iran’s strength lies instead in these low-cost, high-volume drone systems—particularly one-way strike drones designed to fly into a target and detonate.”
Chell explained that Iran gained an early advantage in what are known as Category One and Category Two drone systems—low-cost platforms that can be produced in large numbers and used effectively in asymmetric warfare.
IRAN REVOLUTIONARY GUARD COMMANDER SAYS REGIME HAS ‘FINGER ON THE TRIGGER’ AS US WARSHIPS HEAD TO MIDDLE EAST
“Category Three systems are a completely different matter,” he said. “In that area, Iran is decades behind the United States.”
The U.S. military buildup coincides with widespread unrest inside Iran. Protests erupted Dec. 28 amid mounting public discontent.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said the casualty figures had reached 5,459 as of Sunday, with 17,031 cases under investigation.
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Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been reported to have moved into a fortified underground shelter in Tehran after senior officials assessed an increased risk of a potential U.S. strike, according to reports.
President Donald Trump also addressed the deployment on Jan. 21, telling reporters, “We have a big flotilla going in that direction, and we’ll see what happens. We have a big force going towards Iran. I’d rather not see anything happen, but we’re watching them very closely.”
Emory fires Iranian official’s daughter after campus protests over controversial hiring decision
The daughter of a senior Iranian official, who publicly criticized President Donald Trump and U.S. involvement in Iran’s protests, has been fired from her teaching post at a top U.S. college, according to reports.
The Emory Wheel, Emory University’s news outlet, reported the School of Medicine Dean announced in an email Jan. 24 that Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani was no longer a university employee.
Ardeshir-Larijani was an assistant professor in the department of hematology and medical oncology at Emory’s medical school.
“The announcement follows a Jan. 19 protest where Iranian-American demonstrators gathered outside Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute to oppose the employment of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani by the University,” the outlet said.
IRAN REVOLUTIONARY GUARD COMMANDER SAYS REGIME HAS ‘FINGER ON THE TRIGGER’ AS US WARSHIPS HEAD TO MIDDLE EAST
Ardeshir-Larijani’s Emory faculty page and her Emory Healthcare pages were also no longer visible online.
The nonprofit Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists (AAIRIA) claimed that Ardeshir-Larijani had lived and worked in the U.S. for several years.
The group also cited the professional profile on Emory Healthcare’s official website as showing a listing for a woman called Ardeshir-Larijani who is a U.S.-trained hematologist-oncologist and practicing in Atlanta.
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The claims had first drawn attention amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran following the outbreak of protests and reports of deaths during an intense crackdown from Dec. 28.
Trump warned of potential U.S. action in response.
In a Jan. 2 Truth Social post, the president warned that if Iran “violently kills peaceful protesters” the U.S. “will come to their rescue,” saying “we are locked and loaded and ready to go.”
Trump’s remarks prompted warnings from senior Iranian officials, who said any American interference would cross a “red line.”
Ali Larijani had posted on X that U.S. interference in Iran’s internal affairs would “[destabilize] the entire region” and “[destroy] American interests.”
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“The American people must know that Trump is the one who started this adventure,” he wrote, “and they should pay attention to the safety of their soldiers.”
AAIRIA responded by urging U.S. authorities to review the immigration and visa status of Ardeshir-Larijani and her husband.
The group urged officials to determine whether continued residence in the U.S. aligns with U.S. law, national security considerations and principles of accountability and human rights, in a statement shared online.
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Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., also called on Emory to dismiss Ardeshir-Larijani and the state’s medical board to revoke her medical license.
Ardeshir-Larijani’s dismissal also arrived two weeks after sanctions had been placed on her father by the Treasury Department, who said that he “is responsible for coordinating the response to the protests on behalf of the Supreme Leader of Iran and has publicly called for Iranian security forces to use force to repress peaceful protesters,” and has publicly defended the regime’s actions.
Ali Larijani has portrayed the U.S. as a hostile power in the past.
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A 2018 report by The Washington Times highlighted what critics described as a double standard among Iranian officials whose relatives live or work in Western countries.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House and the Department of Homeland Security for comment and Emory University for comment.
Israel announces limited reopening of Rafah Crossing under Trump’s 20-point plan
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Sunday that Israel has agreed to a “limited reopening” of Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt under President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan.
In a series of posts on X, Netanyahu’s office said the crossing will reopen after the completion of an operation to locate the remains of the final Israeli hostage. The reopening will be limited to pedestrian traffic and remain subject to a full Israeli inspection process.
“As part of President Trump’s 20-point plan, Israel has agreed to a limited reopening of the Rafah Crossing for pedestrian passage only, subject to a full Israeli inspection mechanism,” the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel wrote.
The Prime Minister’s Office said the reopening was contingent on the return of all living hostages and what it described as a “100 percent effort” by Hamas to locate and return the remains of all deceased hostages.
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All deceased hostages have been recovered except for police officer Ran Gvili.
“The IDF is currently conducting a focused operation to exhaust all of the intelligence that has been gathered in the effort to locate and return the fallen hostage, Master-Sgt. Ran Gvili, of blessed memory,” the Prime Minister’s Office wrote. “Upon completion of this operation, and in accordance with what has been agreed upon with the US, Israel will open the Rafah Crossing.”
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“The State of Israel is committed to the return of Israeli hero Master-Sgt. Ran Gvili and will spare no effort to bring him home for a proper Jewish burial,” the statement added.
President Trump released his 20-point plan to end the Gaza war in September. The 20 remaining hostages were freed from captivity in Gaza on Oct. 13.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration formally launched the second phase of the plan, shifting from a ceasefire framework toward a post-ceasefire political and security phase for Gaza.
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U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff warned that Hamas must fully comply with its obligations under the agreement, including the immediate return of the final deceased hostage.
“The U.S. expects Hamas to comply fully with its obligations, including the immediate return of the final deceased hostage,” Witkoff wrote on X on Jan. 14. “Failure to do so will bring serious consequences.”
Syrian militiaman shows off what he claims to be severed Kurdish fighter’s braid as Damascus asserts control
A video showing a Syrian militiaman holding what he claims to be a severed braid belonging to a Kurdish fighter killed in Raqqa has sparked outrage as Damascus moves to assert control in northeastern Syria amid a fragile ceasefire.
In the video, the man holds up what appears to be a cut braid. He is said to tell the person filming that he took it from a woman he claims was affiliated with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
When asked why, he responds, “She’s already gone, what will she do?” according to London-based news outletNew Arab.
The video prompted an online campaign and protests where Kurdish women braided their hair in solidarity. Outrage continued to grow as control in northeastern Syria began to shift, AFP reported.
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“The video highlighted the fears many Kurds have about what Syrian government control could mean for their communities,” Syria analyst Nanar Hawach told Fox News Digital.
“The Damascus-affiliated fighter held up a severed braid, claiming he cut it from a YPJ fighter killed in Raqqa, but he later claimed it was ‘artificial’ and ‘a joke.’ The woman’s identity and fate remain unverified,” Hawach, of International Crisis Group, said
“The response matters more than the video though,” he added, noting that the braid carries “cultural significance in Kurdish tradition and has become a symbol of women’s resistance.”
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The incident comes as Damascus, under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, pushes to expand its reach and authority into areas long governed by the SDF, the U.S.’ main partner in the fight against ISIS in Syria.
Raqqa, once the Islamic State group’s de facto capital, has also seen fighting emerge across the region between Syrian government forces and Kurdish units, prompting a U.S.-brokered cease-fire on Jan. 18.
The truce followed diplomatic efforts by U.S. envoy Tom Barrack, who met SDF commander Mazloum Abdi and Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani in Erbil on Jan. 17 before traveling to Damascus to meet al-Sharaa, Reuters reported.
“This new 15-day ceasefire extension has created a real diplomatic window, but postpones rather than resolves the fundamental dispute,” Hawach said.
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“For Syria’s Kurds, the extension offers temporary relief but perhaps little certainty about what comes next,” he said. “The fundamental disagreement remains: Damascus insists on individual integration, while the SDF views organizational dissolution as political erasure.”
The ceasefire extension was also tied to security concerns surrounding ISIS prisoners held in northeastern Syria.
Damascus has taken control of several detention sites. As previously reported by Fox News Digital, prisoners escaped amid the transfer of control before U.S. Central Command began moving detainees to Iraq on Jan. 21, with the operation ongoing.
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“Washington is racing to transfer detainees before the security situation deteriorates further,” Hawach said.
“Washington’s goal is to prevent this standoff from producing two outcomes: violence against Kurds, or an Islamic State resurgence from detention facilities,” he said.
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“The U.S. is trying to ensure this transition doesn’t end in violence along ethnic lines or an Islamic State resurgence,” Hawach added.
“The fundamental dispute over integration between the SDF and Damascus remains unresolved. If they cannot bridge that gap, renewed fighting is possible when this new 15-day ceasefire expires,” he said.