Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week proposed that he and U.S. President Donald Trump publicly call on Iranians to take to the streets against the government, but Trump rejected the idea, saying it posed a high risk to civilians, Axios reported, citing two U.S. officials and an Israeli source. “Why on earth are we telling people to take to the streets, because they’re going to be mowed down,” Trump told Netanyahu during the call, a U.S. official briefed on the conversation said. The exchange reflected differing approaches between the two allies, who, while sharing most of their military goals in the ongoing conflict, disagree on how far to push for regime change and how much chaos is acceptable.Netanyahu has made promoting a popular uprising among Iranians a core goal. However, U.S. officials told Axios that Trump views regime change more as a “reward” than a primary goal. Although he suggested at the start of the war that the Iranians might have a chance to overthrow their government following U.S. combat operations, he has rarely repeated that position since.Shortly before the disagreement, Israel launched an airstrike that killed Iran’s national security chief Ali Larijani, Basij militia chief Ghulamreza Soleimani and several deputies. Israeli officials said the elimination of Soleimani was aimed at creating the conditions for a popular uprising because he was tasked with suppressing protests.Netanyahu said during the call that the Iranian regime is in chaos and there are opportunities to further destabilize it. He suggested coordinating with Trump to encourage public protests. However, Trump warned that such calls could lead to mass casualties, recalling that thousands of protesters had been killed before the conflict escalated.Despite Trump’s warnings, Netanyahu later publicly addressed the Iranian people, urging them to “celebrate the Festival of Fire,” while Israel carried out airstrikes against key locations. Few Iranians reportedly took to the streets, which U.S. and Israeli officials attributed to fear of retaliation from the regime. Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, told Axios that the strategy remains focused on reducing the regime’s ability to suppress opposition and giving Iranians “control of their lives,” while Trump simultaneously pursues diplomatic options that leave some of the regime’s powers intact.Israeli officials say Netanyahu remains skeptical that an acceptable deal can be reached soon.
