We hope that the Iranian people can overthrow this government and establish a new future for that country. Such a statement made the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.

SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, so two things, and two things can be true. Number one is our mission and our focus is the destruction of their ballistic missile capabilities and their ability to manufacture them, as well as the threat posed by their navy to global shipping. That`s our objective. That said, we would not mind, we would not be heartbroken, and we hope that the Iranian people can overthrow this government and establish a new future for that country. We would love for that to be possible. But the objective of this mission is the destruction of their ballistic missile capabilities and of their naval capabilities.

QUESTION: Are you saying – based on that, are you saying that there is no responsibility, no plan for the U.S. to at least play a role in whatever government comes next?

SECRETARY RUBIO: I mean, we might. We`ll see how circumstances play out, but you – I`m telling you what the objectives of this operation are. The objectives of this operation are to destroy their ballistic missile capability and make sure they can`t rebuild it, and make sure that they can`t hide behind that to have a nuclear program. That`s the objective of the mission.

That said – abundantly clear – we would love for there to be an Iran that’s not governed by radical Shia clerics. As I`ve said myself repeatedly for years, the leadership of that country does not reflect the people of Iran, and I think that`s been pretty apparent in the protests that you`ve seen. If there`s something we can do to help them down the road, we`d obviously be open to it, but that`s not the objective. The objective of this mission is the destruction of their ballistic missile capability.