Israel Wants Iranians To Protest But Knows They'll "Get Slaughtered": Report

Senior Israeli officials privately warned US diplomats that Iranian citizens who protest against their government will "get slaughtered" even as Israel continued to openly encourage such protests, according to a State Department cable reviewed by The Washington Post.

The cable, sent by the US Embassy in Jerusalem on Friday, shared Israel's assessment that the Iranian regime is "not cracking" and remains prepared to "fight to the end" despite the killing of Ali Khamenei on February 28 and the ongoing US-Israeli bombing campaign.

According to the cable, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps "has the upper hand", and if large numbers of Iranians take to the streets, Israeli officials say, "the people will get slaughtered".

Calls For Protests Despite Risks

Despite these warnings, Israeli officials continued to express hope that protests would materialise. They also urged Washington to be ready to support demonstrators in the event of a crackdown, the cable said.

The document summarised discussions held earlier in the week between US officials and senior representatives from Israel's National Security Council, Ministry of Defence, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The developments come as Iran's exiled crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, has called on citizens to take to the streets during Chaharshanbe Suri, the traditional Persian "Festival of Fire".

Israel's Public Position

Publicly, Israel has maintained that its focus remains on weakening Iran's leadership and military capabilities.

In a statement, the Israeli Embassy in Washington said the country is "focused on eliminating the regime's military capabilities - to everyone's benefit."

"Iranians have risked their lives taking to the streets time and again, including just this past January," the embassy added. "There are opposition groups who have been working independently for years to overthrow the regime."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also repeatedly voiced support for regime change. In a televised address at the start of the conflict, he said Israel "will strike hard at the terror regime and create conditions that will allow the brave Iranian people to cast off the yoke of this murderous regime."

Shift In US Position

The Trump administration's stance on the risks facing Iranian protesters appears to have evolved over time.

US President Donald Trump initially urged Iranians to "take over your government" but has since acknowledged the dangers posed by Iran's security forces.

"They literally have people in the streets with machine guns, machine-gunning people down if they want to protest," Trump said in an interview with Fox News.

"I really think that's a big hurdle to climb for people that don't have weapons," he added.

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Trump "doesn't like to see suffering anywhere, including in Iran, where the terrorist regime was slaughtering protesters before the president intervened and is now targeting civilians throughout the region."

US officials also indicated that Washington is no longer actively pursuing the overthrow of Iran's clerical and military leadership.

Regime Resilience Surprises Israel

Despite heavy damage inflicted by US-Israeli strikes, Iran's leadership has shown resilience, which is a factor that appears to have been underestimated.

Israeli officials had expected the killing of the supreme leader to trigger "more chaos" within the system. Instead, the regime has continued to demonstrate operational capability, including launching ballistic missiles and drones "everywhere they want to", according to the cable.

Even amid reports that successor Mojtaba Khamenei was wounded in an airstrike, Israeli officials said he remains "still in charge" and is "more aligned" with hardliners in the Revolutionary Guard than his predecessor.

They suggested that while leadership changes might influence the regime's direction, it remains "stubborn" and would ultimately have to be "taken down from within".