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On Tuesday it was reported that top Israeli officials told U.S. diplomats that the Iranian protesters will “get slaughtered” if they stage an uprising (a coup) against the Islamic Republic. Despite this knowledge, “Israel publicly calls for a popular uprising.”
The report stems from a State Department cable reviewed by The Washington Post. It was circulated by the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem on Friday.
The cable consisted of an Israeli assessment that the government of Iran is “not cracking” following weeks of U.S. and Israeli strikes and the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (the head of Shia Islam). It also said that Tehran is willing to “fight to the end.”
Iran witnessed mass protests against its government prior to the military operation against it, with many of the protestors getting killed by the regime.
Israeli officials said in the cable that if the Iranian protestors returned to the streets “the people will get slaughtered” due to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Iran’s principal military force, “has the upper hand.”
Despite the grim forecast, Israeli officials said they hoped for a popular revolt and urged the United States to prepare to support protesters if that happens, according to the cable.
The Post said that the document’s authenticity was verified by two State Department officials.
The cable summarized recent meetings between U.S. officials and senior members of Israel’s National Security Council, Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday and Thursday.
It comes as Iran’s exiled crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, calls for Iranians to take to the streets this week to mark the ancient Persian “Festival of Fire” known as Chaharshanbe Suri.
Israeli and U.S. strikes have already killed more than 1,300 Iranians, making any push by Tel-Aviv to get more Iranians out on the street to face death from their own government look like a bad proposition.
Narges Bajoghli, an Iran expert at Johns Hopkins University, said that Iranians have long been skeptical of Israeli intentions and that the dual messages on display in the cable will be viewed by many as callous and exploitative of Iranian lives.
“I think a lot of people will feel very betrayed by this assessment,” Bajoghli said.
The Israeli Embassy in Washington said Israel 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 said in a statement. “There are opposition groups who have been working independently for years to overthrow the regime.”
The recent report is notable as directly after Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran, President Donald Trump took to social media calling for the Iranians to stage a coup, a Trump-backed insurrection in the capital of Iran.
“When we are finished [dropping bombs] take over your government, it will be yours to take,” Trump said February 28. “This will be, probably, your only chance for generations.”
