Former Secretary of State John Kerry revealed on MSNBC on April 11, 2026 that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pitched military action against Iran to three consecutive presidents — George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden — and all three refused. Trump was the first and only president to accept.
Kerry described Netanyahu's pitch as encompassing eliminating Iranian leadership, facilitating regime change, and destroying military capabilities. He called the Iran war “fulfilling the long-held dream of Prime Minister Netanyahu” and confirmed there was “not an imminent threat” justifying the strikes.
The revelation was corroborated by a New York Times report (April 8) from the forthcoming Haberman-Swan book 'Regime Change,' which detailed the February 11, 2026 Situation Room meeting where Netanyahu personally pitched Trump a four-point plan: destroy Iran's missiles in weeks, the regime can't close the Strait of Hormuz, street protests would produce regime change with Mossad help, and Kurdish fighters would open a ground front from Iraq. Netanyahu even showed Trump a video montage of potential post-theocratic Iranian leaders.
Trump's response: “Sounds good to me.”
The next day, Trump's own team pushed back. CIA Director John Ratcliffe called the regime change scenarios “farcical.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said bluntly: “In other words, it's bullshit.” Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine warned the plan was “overblown,” called it “standard operating procedure for the Israelis,” and cautioned that a major campaign would drastically deplete U.S. weapons stockpiles already strained from years supporting Ukraine and Israel.
Trump dismissed all warnings. On February 26, with several senior cabinet members excluded from the meeting, he authorized the strikes: “Operation Epic Fury is approved. No aborts. Good luck.”
Every prediction Netanyahu made proved wrong: Iran continued daily ballistic missile launches six weeks later, immediately moved to block the Strait of Hormuz causing a global energy crisis, and the Kurdish ground plan was pulled after leaks.