Revealed: Netanyahu's 'Charm' That Led Trump to Attack Iran, With This Promise
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly succeeded in convincing US President Donald Trump to launch combined attacks on Iran. This high-risk move was taken following sweet promises regarding a lightning coup scenario claimed to collapse the Tehran government in a short time.
An exclusive New York Times report released on Sunday (22/03/2026) revealed that this plan was devised from the conflict preparation stage. According to anonymous sources, Mossad intelligence chief David Barnea proposed that Israeli spies could trigger a major uprising within Iran.
“David Barnea presented this plan to Netanyahu and several senior US officials in January. He stated that Mossad had the capability to overthrow the Iranian government in just a matter of days after the attacks began,” the report stated, also quoted by Russia Today.
Although senior officials in Washington and Israel’s Military Intelligence Directorate (AMAN) doubted the plan’s feasibility, Trump and Netanyahu remained optimistic. Both targeted regime change in Iran by eliminating the country’s top leadership.
On the other hand, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had provided a contrasting assessment of the ambitious plan. The CIA assessed that a total collapse of the Iranian government was a relatively unlikely outcome in the near term.
US officials briefed on this assessment warned that, in the most likely scenario, hardline factions in Tehran would retain their power. This served as a red flag that was previously ignored by the White House.
Since Washington and West Jerusalem began their attacks at the end of February, Trump has repeatedly called on the Iranian people to overthrow their own government. These calls continue amid escalating military tensions in the Middle East region.
However, the reality on the ground shows results different from Israel’s initial expectations. Although several high-ranking Iranian officials and commanders have been killed, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the Iranian government has not collapsed and remains firmly in place to this day.
Tehran has instead continued systematic retaliation against US and Israeli assets scattered across the Middle East. The failure of this scenario is reported to be sparking internal tensions among the allies, particularly regarding the effectiveness of Mossad’s strategy.
Netanyahu personally is said to have expressed frustration because Mossad failed to follow through on the promised regime change plan. Additionally, he is worried that Trump might end the war at any time without achieving their main objectives.
Iran has long accused the foreign Israeli intelligence agency of interfering in its internal affairs. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that Mossad operations were involved in deadly unrest that swept the country in the winter of 2025.
Araghchi said in January that those agents shot at protesters, civilians, and security personnel to incite chaos. According to him, they deliberately escalated the unrest with violence to give Washington a reason for military intervention.
In response to the increasingly uncontrollable situation, Russia has firmly condemned the US and Israeli attacks on the Islamic Republic of Iran. Moscow urged Washington to immediately halt the physical confrontation and seek resolution through diplomatic channels.