Trump told the Israeli leader that protests in Iran would “cut down” its population
American leader Donald Trump rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to incite the Iranian population to protest against the authorities.
This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing Axios.
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During their conversation, Trump told Netanyahu that he opposes encouraging people to take to the streets where they could be killed, according to an American official who informed about the conversation.
“Why the hell should we tell people to go out into the streets if they are just going to get cut down?” Trump said to Netanyahu during their talk.
The publication notes that this discussion revealed disagreements between the US and Israel regarding regime change in Iran. While Netanyahu lists the uprising of the Iranians among Israel’s main goals, US officials say that Trump views regime change as a bonus rather than a primary objective.
Netanyahu made his proposal after Israeli strikes last Tuesday killed Iran’s national security chief Ali Larijani and the head of the Basij militia Gholamreza Soleimani along with their deputies.
Anonymous Israeli officials stated that Soleimani’s assassination aimed to enable a popular uprising, as he was responsible for suppressing protests.
According to the American official and an Israeli source, Netanyahu told Trump during the conversation that the Iranian regime is in chaos and creates opportunities for further destabilization.
Trump expressed concern that a public call for protests would lead to mass casualties, noting that thousands of Iranian protesters had been killed even before the war.
The situation in Iran
Recall that on March 24, Netanyahu promised to continue strikes on Iran despite Trump’s statements regarding a quick resolution to the war.
The day before, Netanyahu spoke about a conversation with Trump regarding a possible deal with Iran. The US president reportedly began discussing further diplomatic solutions to the conflict.
As is known, the American-Israeli offensive against Iran began on February 28 of this year. However, Tehran did not surrender as quickly as Washington had thought, which is why Trump has recently started talking about ending the confrontation.
