Trump Rejected Netanyahu’s Plan to Get Iranians to Take to the Streets and Protest Government — President Warned ‘They’ll Get Mowed Down’: Axios

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

President Donald Trump reportedly rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to urge Iranians to protest in the streets.

According to a report from Axios, Trump and Netanyahu recently spoke when the prime minister proposed an idea to call on Iranian citizens to stage an uprising. The president, however, deemed the plan too risky and told Netanyahu their lives would be in grave danger.

The report continued:

“Why the hell should we tell people to take to the streets when they’ll just get mowed down,” Trump said to Netanyahu during their call, according to a U.S. official briefed on the conversation.

Why it matters: The U.S. and Israel agree on most of the military objectives of the war, but the outlooks differ on the question of regime change in Iran and the amount of chaos and bloodshed that’s acceptable to try to bring it about.

While Netanyahu lists creating the conditions for a popular uprising among Israel’s core objectives, U.S. officials say Trump sees regime change as more of a “bonus.”

Trump and Netanyahu have reportedly had multiple disagreements since the start of the war in Iran. In recent days, the president has repeatedly expressed his disapproval over Israel targeting Iran’s energy infrastructure. Such attacks have caused a great deal of economic certainty, leading to surging energy prices across the globe.

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