Donald Trump has firmly rejected Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal for the United States to incite a street revolution in Iran aimed at overthrowing the current regime.
“Why on earth should we encourage people to protest when they’ll just be gunned down?” Trump reportedly told Netanyahu during a phone conversation last week.
This discussion took place mere hours after Ali Larijani, a key Iranian security figure, was killed in an Israeli operation on Tuesday. Netanyahu suggested to Trump that the Iranian leadership was in chaos, presenting an opportunity for a popular uprising, according to insights from a U.S. official and an Israeli source via Axios.
Trump, however, was concerned about the potential for bloodshed, considering the history of brutal crackdowns by paramilitary forces during previous anti-regime demonstrations.
Both leaders decided to observe whether Iranians would rally on their own during the annual festival of fire, without any external prompting, according to a source.
Despite this agreement, Netanyahu went ahead with his plans, announcing on television: “Our aircraft are targeting terrorist operatives… This is to enable the courageous Iranian people to celebrate the festival of fire. So go out and celebrate… we are watching from above.”
The rupture lays bare a widening gap between the two leaders, with Washington quietly distancing itself from Jerusalem on regime change despite Trump urging a popular uprising when the war began.
Netanyahu has since secretly convened his generals and pushed for a 48-hour blitz on Iran’s top targets, even as Trump moves to nail down a swift peace deal.
Donald Trump points his finger towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they shake hands during a press conference after meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., December 29
Israel is engaging in a wide range of military strikes across the Middle East, including in Gaza and Lebanon, where Iran’s proxies are active against Netanyahu’s forces (pictured: a fireball erupts following an Israeli strike near a tent encampment sheltering people displaced by war in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on March 25)
Netanyahu convened Israeli commanders in a bunker deep beneath Tel Aviv on Tuesday after reviewing Trump’s 15-point peace plan.
The Israeli prime minister and his top military advisers were alarmed the US plan did not go far enough to curb Tehran’s military capabilities.
Netanyahu’s Thursday deadline reflects deep concern within the Israeli government that Trump could reach a deal with Tehran at any moment, sources say.
Israeli officials present at Netanyahu’s underground meeting described the atmosphere as ‘tense.’
Iran rejected the proposal on Wednesday, but Trump remains bullish on a deal and a ceasefire could come as early as next Saturday, Israeli media has reported.
Netanyahu’s inner circle is intent on reaching three key war goals: eliminating Iran’s ballistic-missile stockpile, ensuring Tehran cannot develop a nuclear warhead, and fostering an environment within Iran for civilians to overthrow the Islamic regime.
‘If you do not obtain the three objectives, you will not be able to end the war,’ said Boaz Bismuth, a member of Netanyahu’s party.
Trump has not touched on regime change in his messaging since the early days of the war, and the White House does not list it among in its four official objectives: destroy Iran’s missiles, Navy, armed proxies, and nuclear capabilities.
Benjamin Netanyahu from his bunker in Tel Aviv gave Israeli commanders a 48-hour deadline to destroy Iran’s weapons industry
Netanyahu’s Thursday deadline reflects deep concern within the Israeli government that Trump could reach a deal with Tehran at any moment
Pentagon chiefs last night ordered around 2,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East to join some 4,500 Marines already en route, as Trump’s peace push shows signs of weakening.
The President is prepared to pull the trigger on a full-scale invasion if Tehran continues to rebuff his diplomatic overtures, according to members of his inner circle.
‘Trump has a hand open for a deal, and the other is a fist, waiting to punch you in the f***ing face,’ a Trump aide told Axios.
The 15-point plan, modeled on Trump’s Gaza deal, would require Iran to dismantle all nuclear and long-range missile capabilities, open the Strait of Hormuz, and abandon proxy terror groups.
But Iranian state TV said Wednesday the regime had rejected the proposal outright, with Tehran demanding the closure of all US bases in the Gulf, reparations, and an end to Israeli strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Tehran is also seeking to bring the strait – a chokepoint for roughly a fifth of the world’s oil – under its control, allowing it to charge transit fees on passing vessels, much like Egypt does with the Suez Canal.
A Trump official described Iran’s demands as ‘ridiculous’ and ‘unrealistic’, warning that a deal is now harder to reach than before the war began as the President readies a potential ground invasion force.
US and Iranian diplomats have not spoken through direct contact and instead communicate via Middle Eastern intermediaries from Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan.
Netanyahu’s inner circle is intent on reaching three key war goals: eliminating Iran’s ballistic-missile stockpile, ensuring Tehran cannot develop a nuclear warhead, and fostering an environment within Iran for civilians to overthrow the Islamic regime
Smoke and flames rise at the site of airstrikes on an oil depot in Tehran
Speaker of the Iranian parliament Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf in Tehran, Iran, February 1
The Trump administration appears to have created distance with their regime change goal after strikes against senior leadership have failed to overthrow the government
Israeli strikes in Gaza earlier on Wednesday
Saudi Arabia has made clear that ceding control of the Strait of Hormuz is a non-starter, with Riyadh urging Trump to stay in the fight.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has repeatedly urged Trump to finish the Islamic regime in calls over the last week, including the use of ground forces to seize Iran’s energy sites.
Iran remains wary of Trump’s envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, accusing the pair of ‘backstabbing’ Tehran in negotiations ahead of the US and Israel’s strikes on February 28.
Iranian officials are pushing for Vice President JD Vance to lead the US negotiating team, believing he is sympathetic after privately expressing doubts about Operation Epic Fury.
