Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the citizens of Iran Thursday evening, in light of the overthrow of the Assad regime in Syria, and emphasized that "Israel wants peace. We want peace with all those who truly want peace with us."
"I have no doubt that you, the people of Iran, know this. I know that just as we want peace with you, you want peace with us. But you suffer under the rule of a regime that subjugates you and threatens us," Netanyahu also said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Iranian people in English
(Video: Itay Beit On/GPO)
In a video he posted in English with Arabic subtitles, the prime minister added that the regime in Iran "s terrified of you, the people of Iran. And one day, I know that. One day this will change. One day Iran will be free. Women, Life, Freedom."
"That is the future of Iran" Netanyahu continued. "That is the future of peace. And I have no doubt that we will realize that future together – a lot sooner than people think. I know and I believe we will transform the Middle East into a beacon of prosperity, progress and peace."
The prime minister acknowledged the unprecedented chain of events in recent days in Syria in the opening of his message.
"As we see history unfold before our very eyes, I can only imagine what you're feeling right now," he said.
He noted that "your oppressors spent over $30 billion supporting Assad in Syria. Today, after only 11 days of fighting, his regime collapsed into dust. Your oppressors spent billions supporting Hamas in Gaza."
Regarding support for Hamas in the Gaza Strip, he added, "Your oppressors spent billions supporting Hamas in Gaza. Today their regime lies in ruins."
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The prime minister takes his case directly to the Iranian people
(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
The "tyrants from Iran" also invested more than $20 billion in support of Hezbollah in Lebanon, Netanyahu noted, adding that: "In a matter of weeks, most of Hezbollah’s leaders, its rockets and thousands of its terrorists went up in smoke. The money your oppressors stole from you literally went up in smoke."
Netanyahu continued: "You must be furious imagining the new roads, schools, hospitals that could have been built with the tens of billions of dollars your dictators wasted backing terrorists who lose over and over and over again."
Netanyahu rhetorically asked if the Iranians know why their oppressors keep losing.
“It's not only because they are incompetent and cruel. They are. It's because they seek to conquer other nations, to impose fundamentalist tyranny on the Middle East - on the entire world. The only thing Israel seeks is to defend our state. But in so doing, we're defending civilization against barbarism.”
He said that the "historic events we witness today" are a "chain reaction to the pounding of Hamas, the decimation of Hezbollah, the targeting of Nasrallah, the blows we delivered to the Iran regime's axis of terror. And all this came as President Trump pointed out this week, 'because of Israel and its fighting success.'"
About two and a half months ago, Netanyahu also directly addressed the Iranians, effectively asking them to rebel against the regime.
"Don't let a small group of fanatic theocrats crush your hopes and your dreams. You deserve better. Your children deserve better. The entire world deserves better," he said then. "The people of Iran should know – Israel stands with you. May we together know a future of prosperity and peace."
"I speak a lot about the leaders of Iran. Yet at this pivotal moment, I want to address you – the people of Iran. I want to do so directly, without filters, without middlemen," he said. "Every day, you see a regime that subjugates you, makes fiery speeches about defending Lebanon, defending Gaza. Yet every day, that regime plunges our region deeper into darkness and deeper into war. Every day, their puppets are eliminated. Ask Mohammed Deif. Ask Nasrallah," he said, referring to Israel's killing of leaders of Iranian terror proxies.
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He then threatened the ayatollahs again, saying that: "There is nowhere in the Middle East Israel cannot reach. There is nowhere we will not go to protect our people and protect our country. With every passing moment, the regime is bringing you — the noble Persian people — closer to the abyss. The vast majority of Iranians know their regime doesn't care a whit about them. If it did care, if it cared about you, it would stop wasting billions of dollars on futile wars across the Middle East. It would start improving your lives."
He described a world in which Iran and Israel are at peace, instead of Iranian citizens living in "endless poverty, repression and war."
"Don't let a small group of fanatic theocrats crush your hopes and your dreams. You deserve better. Your children deserve better. The entire world deserves better," he said, concluding: "The people of Iran should know – Israel stands with you. May we together know a future of prosperity and peace."