President Trump formally rejected the idea of regime change in Iran Tuesday, saying he “never cared” about it — despite calling early in the war for the Iranian people to rise up against their clerical rulers. 

“You talk about regime change. I never cared about regime change. It [was] never a part,” Trump said during a meeting with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the G7. 

In February, Trump said regime change would be “the best thing that could happen” in Iran and he later called on the country’s people to finish the job started by US and Israeli airstrikes, telling them “the hour of your freedom is at hand.”

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the first hour of the war Feb. 28, with his son Mojtaba taking over the reins.

“I guess you have regime change,” Trump told Al Thani Tuesday, “because you know better than anybody, the first group, they’re all dead. The second group, they’re dead. A part of the third group is gone.”

“We’re dealing with people that I think are very rational people,” he went on. “They were nice to deal with. They were strong people, smart people. I think actually they’re smarter than the first and second group, but they’re not radicalized and they’re, you know, looking to help their country.”