Regime change is returning to the policy discussion over Iran, not as a call for another U.S.-led intervention but as a strategic question about whether lasting regional stability is possible while the political system at the center of repeated confrontation remains unchanged.

The shift is increasingly visible. At this year’s U.N. General Assembly, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa argued that lasting peace in the Middle East requires political change in Iran. Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg similarly linked representative government in Iran to long-term regional security.