Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday issued a direct message for the people of Iran, saying Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's government feared the people of Iran more than Israel.
"There's one thing Khamenei’s regime fears more than Israel. It’s you — the people of Iran. Don't lose hope,״ Netanyahu told Iranian people in a surprise message amid tension between the two nations, following Israel's attacks against Iran-baked Hezbollah in Lebanon.
"That’s why they spend so much time and money trying to crush your hopes and curb your dreams," he said in a video message.
"Well, I say to you this: Don’t let your dreams die. I hear the whispers: Women, Life, Freedom. Zan, Zendegi, Azadi. Don't lose hope. And know that Israel and others in the free world stand with you," Netanyahu said.
"A special message from me to the Iranian people: there’s one thing Khamenei’s regime fears more than Israel. It’s you — the people of Iran. Don’t lose hope," Israeli Prime Minister's video post on X read.
Iran's supreme leader threatens Israel
Earlier last week, Iran's supreme leader on Saturday threatened Israel and the US with “a crushing response” over attacks on Iran and its allies. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke as Iranian officials are increasingly threatening to launch yet another strike against Israel after its October
26 attack on the Islamic Republic that targeted military bases and other locations and killed at least five people.
Any further attacks from either side could engulf the wider Middle East, already teetering over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and Israel's ground invasion of Lebanon, into a wider regional conflict.
“The enemies, whether the Zionist regime or the United States of America, will definitely receive a crushing response to what they are doing to Iran and the Iranian nation and to the resistance front," Khamenei said in video released by Iranian state media.
The supreme leader did not elaborate on the timing of the threatened attack, nor the scope. The US military operates on bases throughout the Middle East, with some troops now manning a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, battery in Israel.
Why Iran entered into the Israel-Hamas conflict
Iran-backed Hezbollah began firing into Israel from Lebanon on October 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Since the conflict erupted, more than 3,100 people have been killed and nearly 13,900 wounded in Lebanon. In response, Israel initiated military operations in Lebanon and started targeting Iranian territory as well. The Israel-Hamas war began after militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others. Israel's military response in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials say.
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