New Delhi:
In a direct address to the people of Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a clear and convincing message on Monday. The Israeli leader’s speech, delivered in English with Persian subtitles, conveyed both a warning to the Iranian regime and reassurance to its citizens. The announcement comes amid Israel’s escalating actions against Iran-backed groups in the Middle East.
Netanyahu condemned Iran’s leadership for allegedly prioritizing regional conflicts over the well-being of its own people. “Every day you see a regime that subjugates you making impassioned speeches about defending Lebanon, defending Gaza,” Netanyahu said, adding that the Iranian government was “plunging the region deeper and deeper into darkness and deeper into war.”
Citing Iran’s support for Hezbollah and Hamas, groups that have been involved in bitter conflicts with Israel, Netanyahu said Iran’s supporters have been systematically attacked. “Iran’s puppets are being eliminated,” he said. adding that there is “nowhere we will not go to protect our people”.
“With every passing moment, the regime is bringing you – the noble Persian people – closer to the abyss,” he said. “The majority of Iranians know that their regime does not care about them in the slightest. If he cared, if he cared about you, he would stop wasting billions of dollars on pointless wars in the Middle East. It would begin to improve your life.
“Imagine if all the huge money that the regime wasted on nuclear weapons and foreign wars was invested in educating your children, in improving your health care, in building your nation’s infrastructure, water, sanitation, all the other things, from that you need. Imagine this. “
Netanyahu predicted a future in which Iran is free from theocratic rule, envisioning a new era of peace between Israel and Iran. He expressed confidence that change will come “much sooner than people think.” According to Netanyahu, post-regime Iran will enjoy prosperity through global investment, tourism and technological advancement.
“When Iran is finally free – and that moment will come much sooner than people think – everything will be different,” he said. “Our two ancient peoples, the Jewish people and the Persian people, will finally be at peace. Our two countries, Israel and Iran, will be at peace.
“When that day comes, the terrorist network that the regime has built on five continents will fail, it will be broken. Iran Will Prosper Like Never Before: Global Investment; huge tourism; brilliant technological innovations based on the vast talents that exist in Iran. does that sound better than endless poverty, repression and war?”
This direct message comes as a result of Israel’s intensified operations against Iranian proxies. Days before Netanyahu’s announcement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a major airstrike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah at the group’s headquarters in Beirut. The strike also reportedly killed a senior official of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Nasrallah’s death was met with celebration by anti-regime Iranians around the world.
“You deserve better. Your children deserve better. The whole world deserves better. I know you don’t support the rapists and murderers of Hamas and Hezbollah, but your leaders do. You deserve more. The people of Iran should know – Israel stands with you. Let us together know the future of prosperity and peace,” Netanyahu added.
After Nasrallah’s assassination, there were reports that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had been moved to a safe location amid fears of further Israeli action.
Tensions between Israel and Iran reached new heights earlier this year when Iran fired more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel in response to an alleged Israeli strike in Syria that killed several senior IRGC officers. The majority of these rockets were intercepted by Israeli defense systems with the support of a US-led coalition. Israel responded to Iran’s actions with a limited drone strike against a nuclear research facility in Isfahan.
Nasrallah’s killing also came amid Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, where cross-border attacks against Israel are frequent, ostensibly in solidarity with Hamas during Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza. Israel has steadily escalated its strikes against Hezbollah targets, resulting in significant casualties among the group’s leadership. Earlier in the month, mysterious explosions attributed to Israel destroyed Hezbollah communications devices, injuring thousands and intensifying the ongoing conflict.
