Netanyahu prostrates himself before “visionary leader” Trump, but insists on the need to change the Iranian regime

Netanyahu thus responded to the accusations of a large part of the American alternative right of being the mastermind behind this war and of having almost forced Trump to bomb Iran.

This speech has been used by the commentator Tucker Carlson and former counterterrorism chief Joe Kent…but also the Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, Marco Rubioin the early stages of the war.

The fact that Trump distanced himself from Israel’s attack on the natural gas field facilities in South Pars, provoking Iran’s retaliation against Qatar and a spectacular increase in the price of oil that subsided during the day, seemed to support this hypothesis.

Netanyahu, in a message clearly aimed at American public opinion, praised the coordination between both countries, praised Trump in every possible way and insisted that the ayatollah regime was not a problem only for Israel, but for the United States – he listed all the affronts since 1979 against American targets – and, by extension, for the entire world.

“They should thank President Trump for saving them,” the Likud leader said.

Different objectives

The public statement stood out for its calculated ambiguity. Netanyahu acknowledged that Iran could no longer enrich uranium nor could it manufacture new ballistic missiles. Beyond the veracity of this data – the same thing was said in June 2025 and, nine months later, here we are -, in some way Israel opens a door with this recognition for Trump to abandon the war.

Ultimately, the objectives of the operation Epic Furylaunched from Washington, are not the same as the operation Roaring Liondriven from Tel Aviv.

If there is no longer a nuclear threat and there is no possibility of manufacturing missiles in the short and medium term, it could be understood that Trump’s objectives have already been met.

That is a plausible interpretation… although, of course, Netanyahu wants the United States to remain at his side in this operation and to expand its objectives.

Hence, almost immediately, the prime minister emphasized the need to free the Strait of Hormuz, something that only the Americans can do, and to look for alternatives to transporting oil through gas pipelines through Saudi Arabia.

Not only that, but he advocated the need for regime change in Tehran.

“It is no use changing an ayatollah for another ayatollah, just as it would have been no use exchanging Hitler for Himmler,” he said.

For this, he clarified, air attacks are not enough. “No revolution is achieved from the air,” he said, later warning: “There has to be some kind of component on the ground,” referring to the debate over whether or not to send soldiers to ensure absolute control of the country.

Contradictions

That is the great point of collision right now between both countries and, of course, Netanyahu did not want to make it a public problem.

He knows that the best way to get Trump to accept something is to make him think that only he could have thought of it.

Hours before, the American president had publicly stated that he was not going to send troops anywhere, although argumentative consistency is not one of his strong points, as we all know.

Regarding regime change and the sending of troops, in these three weeks, Trump has stated “not to be afraid of another Vietnam”, has emphasized the need for him to personally choose the new Iranian leader and has insisted – as has the head of the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth— in which the relatives of the soldiers who died in the Middle East were asking him to “finish what he started.”

Likewise, he has had time to affirm practically the opposite, depending on the day.

Trump is able to claim that he has already won the war, that he is winning the war, that he needs help to win the war and that he doesn’t need it at all.

Let’s say it’s not an example of coherence.

Netanyahu knows this and knows what buttons to play with the New York billionaire… another thing is that they will always sound the way he wants, obviously.

The idea of ​​a puppet Trump while Israel pulls the strings is too simplistic and seems to reveal many prejudices.

The memory of Gaza

That said, the truth is that Trump has to make decisions and he has to make them now.

It gives the impression that everything has been done in a hasty and poorly planned manner.

Already in 2019, during his first term, Trump spent months insisting that Iran wanted to negotiate with him when he did not even Ali Jamenei in Hasan Rouhanithen president of the Islamic Republic, had the slightest intention of endorsing anything that was not identical to what they had already signed with Barack Obama and the European Union in 2015.

Here the error may be repeating itself, that is, Trump, as he already stated, may Steve Witkoff during the Geneva negotiations, continue to think that the military route is nothing more than a step towards the diplomatic one. A conclusion that fits with the motto “peace through strength” that he coined during his inauguration speech.

Another thing is that the Iranians are in it, which does not seem to be the case. Iran is not going to surrender or accept a supervised transition as Chavismo did or Castroism can do.

Not even Hamas did so in Gaza, despite two years of intense bombing, tens of thousands of deaths, the total destruction of the Strip and the assassination of practically all its leaders.

As of March 2026, terrorists still rule in that part of Palestine.

Netanyahu knows that, but he also knows that Israel, alone, cannot do the job. That is why he has to find the words and excuses that will make Trump forget about the midtermsforget about fears of a new Iraq or a new Afghanistan, and put the necessary soldiers on the ground to truly put an end to the regime.

200 billion dollars more

The other alternative is a popular insurrection, but the prime minister himself acknowledged that it was still too early to consider that possibility… and expressed doubts about whether that moment would ever come.

Netanyahu wants Trump to finish off the ayatollahs and he has his reasons. Leaving the war halfway would mean that Russia and China would enter immediately, put everything back together, and they would have to bomb again in nine months.

The economic and military costs of prolonging the conflict in this way are incalculable.

Hegseth is considering the possibility of asking Congress for $200 billion to finance the operation, but how is he going to ask for it again in a few months if the ayatollahs rebuild their project?

The difference in effectiveness between American and Iranian weapons is evident, but so is their price. Each day of bombing may be costing the Pentagon $1 billion.

Iran, in that sense, has a greater capacity for resistance. The energy crisis, obviously, does not affect it. Their allies can freely pass through Hormuz.

Spending on weapons is minimal and estimates have been off: in recent days, Tehran is launching an increasing number of missiles against Israel and Arab countries, as well as an increasing number of drones.

Of course, he also doesn’t have to worry about what public opinion says, the healthy sword of Damocles that hangs over every decision of Trump or Netanyahu.