While running as a 2024 GOP presidential candidate, former Trump-appointed U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley was photographed in Israel writing on Israeli missiles “Finish Them! America Loves Israel, Always, Nikki Haley.” The photo op occurred after the brutal Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023.

A critic of President Trump’s second administration pick for National Director of Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, Haley said on her podcast in November 2024: “Tulsi opposed ending the Iran Nuclear Deal, opposed sanctions on Iran, opposed designating the Iranian Military as terrorists and criticized the strike against Qasem Soleimani. Iran is our #1 sponsor of terrorism and Tulsi Gabbard was defending Iran.”
Today, almost a week after Israel launched an ongoing series of missile attacks aimed at Iran’s nuclear facilities and military ranks, Haley is voicing her opposition to any goal beyond the elimination of a nuclear threat to the U.S., which she believes Iran poses.
That means the goal of so-called “regime change” — floated by Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu — isn’t what the U.S. should aim for.
Haley wrote: “The US should not engage in regime change in Iran. Our focus should only be on our national security. The Iranian regime has threatened the US with nuclear production for years. We should support Israel in eliminating the Natanz and Fordo sites to prevent the threat of an atomic bomb used against us. The Iranian people should decide who they want to be their leader. That’s their decision, not ours. Stay focused.”