In a provocative message that echoes his appeal from last year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on the people of Iran to rise up against the theocratic regime of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying the time has come to "end the tyranny that has brought nothing but misery and isolation."
As Israel ramps up its strikes and Iran reels from internal and external blows, talk of regime change is once again in the air. Unlike the Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan, Israel will not get into a political mess directly. Netanyahu is not promising to bring about the change, he is creating the conditions by weakening the regime for people to push back against the powerful clergy that has ruled since the Islamic Revolution of 1979 overthrew the Shah.
Netanyahu, a wily political survivor and a hardnosed realist, is not really banking on a popular uprising. His words are meant to provoke and rile the Iranian leadership. He knows well that the reality on the ground is more complex. It is also a fact that the government is unpopular. But will ordinary Iranians rally behind a weakened regime out of nationalist sentiment, or is the ground indeed shifting beneath the Islamic Republic’s feet?
The fact is people of Iran have had a tough life for decades. Though Iran is a rich nation, crippling sanctions for over 40-years has ruined the country’s economy and their infrastructure is crumbling. The ordinary citizens were desperate for a breakthrough in the negotiations between Donald Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff and senior Iranian officials.
However, amid the on-going tension in the region after Israel’s strikes on Iran on Friday, Iran is likely to call off Sunday’s talks. Many believe that Netanyahu’s decision to attack Iran was to ensure that the US-Iran talks are sabotaged. For Israel, any easing of tension between Iran and the US is a cause for major concern.
Ali Khamenei’s government is disliked by large sections in the country. In a visit to Iran, just before the Covid lockdown, people were yearning for Iran to become a 'normal' country, and for a political compromise with the US and Western powers to lift the crippling sanctions. Everyday life has become a grind for most Iranians under massive price rise and lack of employment opportunities in the country.
Official inflation in 2025 hovers around 40 percent, though some Iranian experts say it is running at over 50 percent. The Statistical Center of Iran reported a significant rise in food prices, with over a third of essential commodities increasing by 40 percent in January this year to leave them more than double the same month the previous year.
The sorry state of the economy, coupled with a harsh religious regime that cracks down on popular dissent does not make life easy for the average Iranians. The death and torture of a young woman Mahsa Amini in a Tehran prison in September 2022, brought people out on to the streets to protest.
Her crime was not following the strict hijab rules imposed by the state authorities. Iranians defied the police that cracked down hard on the protesters. But demonstrations against the regime continued for several months and led to the death sentence for several of the protesters.
But does this mean that Iran’s people are willing to listen to the Israeli prime minister? It is unlikely. But, there is no harm in trying to stir the pot. Netanyahu spoke to Iranian’s directly in a video.
Addressing them in English, he said, “The time has come for the Iranian people to unite around its flag and its historic legacy, by standing up for your freedom from the evil and oppressive regime,” he said. “The Islamic regime, which has oppressed you for almost 50 years, threatens to destroy our country.’’
"Since we last spoke, the Khamenei regime launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at my country, Israel. I wonder: Did he tell you how much that attack cost? Well, I’m not guessing. It's $2.3 billion. That’s how much of your precious money they wasted on futile attacks", the Israeli Prime Minister said.
He went on to say that "The missiles did marginal damage to Israel, but what damage did they do to you? That sum could have added billions to your transportation budget. It could have added billions to your education budget."
Last November, during the tit for tat strikes between Israel and Iran, Netanyahu had again addressed Iranians, and said. "I want you to imagine - just imagine - how your life could be different if Iran was free. You could speak your mind without fear. You could make a joke without wondering if you’d be carted off to Evin prison. Close your eyes. Picture the faces of your children – beautiful innocent souls. Think of the endless potential they would have. Their entire lives are ahead of them."
It is also true that through history, Persians, now called Iranians, and Jews had in the past lived together peacefully. Cyrus the ancient Persian King had been kind to Jews and allowed them to live in his country. They had got together to fight the Christians of the region.
