Trump rejected Netanyahu’s proposal to call for an uprising in Iran
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested calling on the Iranian people to take to the streets and protest against the government. During a telephone conversation, US President Donald Trump rejected this idea, pointing to the high risks involved, according to Axios.
According to an American official familiar with the conversation, Trump told Netanyahu that such a call could lead to the loss of life. “Why on earth would we call on people to take to the streets if they’re just going to be shot?” he said.
The US and Israel agree on most military objectives in the war, but their approaches differ on the issue of regime change in Iran and the level of acceptable casualties to achieve it.
Netanyahu considers creating the conditions for a popular uprising to be one of the key tasks. At the same time, US officials note that for Trump, regime change is viewed as a secondary outcome rather than the primary objective. At the start of the war, he stated that Iranians would be able to take power once hostilities had ended, but subsequently rarely returned to this topic.
Last Tuesday, as a result of targeted strikes, Israel eliminated Ali Larijani, who was responsible for Iran’s national security and effectively served as the country’s interim leader, as well as Gholamreza Soleimani, head of the Basij militia, along with several of his deputies.
The Israeli side notes that the elimination of Soleimani was intended to weaken the regime’s ability to suppress protests and create conditions for an uprising.
A few hours after these events, Netanyahu, during a conversation with Trump, stated that the Iranian regime was in a state of disarray and that a window of opportunity had opened for its further destabilisation. He proposed making a joint public appeal to Iranians to take to the streets.
Trump expressed concern that such a move could lead to mass casualties, as thousands of people had previously died during protests in Iran.
The parties agreed to wait and assess whether Iranians would take to the streets during the annual Fire Festival the following day. Meanwhile, Netanyahu issued his own public statement.
“Our aircraft are striking terrorist militants on the ground, on the roads and in city squares. This is being done so that the brave Iranian people can celebrate the Festival of Fire. So take to the streets and celebrate... we are watching over you from the sky,” he said.
The following day, few people took to the streets. American and Israeli officials attributed this to fears of a reaction from the authorities.
A few days later, Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, stated that the aim remained to weaken the regime to a point where it could no longer suppress the opposition.
“We hope this will be the impetus that allows people to take their lives into their own hands... I believe we can undermine this regime to such an extent that it will collapse of its own accord. And it is the Iranian troops who must be the ones acting on the ground,” he said.
Against the backdrop of the ongoing military campaign, the US is considering the possibility of further escalation, whilst Donald Trump is also interested in a diplomatic solution that would allow the current regime to remain in place.
The Israeli side is sceptical about the possibility of reaching an acceptable agreement quickly.
