President Trump rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposal to jointly call on Iranians to protest against their government,
telling the Israeli leader last week that such a call would be too dangerous for civilians, Axios reported, citing two US officials and an Israeli source.
Trump told Netanyahu during their conversation that he opposed calling for people to take to the streets where they could be killed, according to a US official briefed on the conversation.
This exchange highlighted the differences between the US and Israel over regime change in Iran. While Netanyahu cites creating the conditions for a popular uprising as one of Israel's key goals, US officials argue that Trump views regime change as a bonus rather than a primary objective.
Netanyahu made his proposal after Israeli strikes last Tuesday killed Ali Larijani, Iran's head of national security and de facto acting leader, and Gholamreza Soleimani, head of the Basij militia, along with several of their deputies. Israeli officials claimed that Soleimani's assassination was aimed at creating conditions for a popular uprising, as he was responsible for suppressing protests.
Netanyahu told Trump during their conversation that the Iranian regime was in disarray and that this presented an opportunity for further destabilization, according to a U.S. official and an Israeli source. Trump expressed concern that a public call for protests would lead to mass casualties, noting that thousands of Iranian protesters had been killed before the war.