Trump in extraordinary break with Netanyahu as he slaps down bloody regime change plot with brutal warning

Donald Trump has brutally slapped down Benjamin Netanyahu’s push for the US to incite a bloody street revolution to topple the Iranian regime. 

‘Why the hell should we tell people to take to the streets when they’ll just get mowed down,’ Trump told Netanyahu during a call last week.

The call came just hours after Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani was killed in an Israeli strike last Tuesday. Netanyahu told Trump the regime was in disarray and that there was a window for a popular uprising, a US official and Israeli source told Axios.

But Trump feared a massacre, mindful that thousands of Iranians had been slaughtered by paramilitary forces during anti-regime protests before the war.

Netanyahu and Trump agreed to wait and see if the Iranians would come out during the annual festival of fire without encouragement, a source said.

But Netanyahu proceeded anyway, stating on TV: ‘Our aircraft are striking terrorist operatives … This is meant to allow the brave 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. 

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. 

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.

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.