WASHINGTON -- A senior U.S. State Department official says possible changes in the Iranian regime remain a question that must be decided by the Iranian people.
Robert Einhorn, the State Department's special adviser for nonproliferation and arms control, said Washington was not now directing its efforts toward changing the regime that governs Iran.
"We may not like this regime in Tehran -- in fact, we don't like this regime in Tehran -- but we believe that this regime will be changed when Iranian people decide it needs to be changed, and by the Iranian people," Einhorn said.
Einhorn said U.S. policy was aimed at changing Iran's behavior concerning its nuclear activities, its human rights record, and what he described as Iranian support for terrorist groups.
Einhorn's comments came during the first day of the Carnegie Endowment's International Nuclear Policy Conference in Washington on March 28, which has brought together officials and experts dealing with nuclear issues and nonproliferation.