Israel's Mossad promised it could ignite regime change in Iran, says report

Key Points:

• Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, proposed a plan to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ignite public protests in Iran aimed at regime change, which was also presented to senior US officials in January.
• Despite skepticism from some senior American officials and Israeli military intelligence, Netanyahu used Mossad’s assurances to persuade then-US President Donald Trump that collapsing Iran’s government was achievable.
• The plan involved assassinating Iranian leaders followed by intelligence operations to encourage a mass uprising, a strategy reflected in Trump’s early public statements promising freedom to the Iranian people.
• However, within two weeks, US senators stated that overthrowing Iran’s government was not a goal of the military operation, and intelligence assessments, including from the CIA, predicted a more radical leadership would emerge if current leaders were killed.
• Netanyahu grew frustrated as Mossad’s anticipated uprising failed to materialize, with US military leaders and Israeli intelligence agencies expressing doubts about the feasibility of sparking widespread revolt amid ongoing conflict.