Netanyahu appeals to Iranians

(JNS) — In a video message on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the Iranian people to imagine how much better life would be without the ayatollahs, warning also that the “tyrants of Iran” were putting their families in danger. 

“I want you to imagine—just imagine—how your life could be different if Iran was free,” said the Israeli premier. “You could speak your mind without fear. You could make a joke without wondering if you’d be carted off to Evin prison.” 

He underscored how the fanatical Iranian regime spends vast amounts on attacking Israel instead of improving the lot of its own people.

Tehran’s Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack in Israel cost $2.3 billion, said Netanyahu. “That’s how much of your precious money they wasted on futile attacks … They obsess about destroying Israel, rather than about building Iran,” he added.

Iran could have taken those billions and invested them in transportation or education, he noted.

“Imagine how your children’s lives would look if billions of dollars were invested in them instead of being wasted on wars that can’t be won,” he said. 

“They would receive world class education. You would receive beautiful roads. Advanced hospitals. Clean water,” he continued, adding that Israel would gladly share its advanced desalination technology. (In July 2021, protests broke out in Iran over an ongoing water crisis.)

Netanyahu also warned that another attack on Israel would “cripple” Iran’s economy. “I know that you don’t want this war. I don’t want this war either. The people of Israel don’t want this war. There is one force putting your family in grave danger: the tyrants of Tehran,” he said.

He ended the message on an optimistic note, saying that the regime weakens day by day as Israel grows stronger.

“The world has seen but a fraction of our power,” he said. “Yet there’s one thing Khamenei’s regime fears more than Israel. You know what it is? It’s you—the people of Iran. That’s why they spend so much time and money trying to crush your hopes and curb your dreams,” he added. 

“Don’t lose hope. And know that Israel and others in the free world stand with you … I have no doubt that one day in a free Iran, Israelis and Iranians will build together a future of prosperity and peace. That is the future Israel deserves. That is the future Iran deserves. Together, let us turn this beautiful dream into a reality.”

This is the second time Netanyahu has addressed the people of Iran since the start of the war. 

On Sept. 30, he told the “noble Persian people” that the Islamic regime would fall and Iranians would regain their freedom “a lot sooner than people think.”

“Our two ancient peoples, the Jewish people and the Persian people, will finally be at peace,” he said, adding that “when that day comes, the terror network that the regime built in five continents will be bankrupt, dismantled; Iran will thrive as never before.

“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.”