Those who defend the Islamic Republic do not speak for the Iranian people – opinion

Do certain radicals in the West truly believe that a man like this legitimizes retaliation from Iran to Israel?

There is a cruel reality that exists in our world where people hate Israel so much that they can defend the actions of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

On Saturday, April 13, the Islamic Republic of Iran launched waves of drones and missiles in an unprecedented attack from its own soil. Israelis all over the country were bracing themselves for a vicious bombardment campaign by Iran, which launched these attacks in response to Israel’s alleged airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.

Some commentators are trying to justify Iran’s reaction by claiming that diplomatic compounds are off-limits under international law, echoing the condemnation Israel received from the United Nations.

Let’s be very clear: Israel did not attack a diplomatic compound. If Israel is responsible for the strike, which it has not admitted to, it targeted a building next to the Iranian complex. The people who were killed were members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, meaning they were terrorists masquerading as a diplomatic mission and were stripped of any diplomatic immunity.

Yet these crucial details have not stopped people from claiming that “Iran has a right to defend itself against Israel.”

Anyone who is saying this is not talking about Iran and its people; it is talking about the oppressive, genocidal, and imperialist Islamic Republic. In no way do they reflect the Iranian people, nor do they consider their safety and defense in their aggression toward Israel?

Imagine having such hate towards the Jewish state that you can somehow distort reality and make the Islamic Republic the victim. In the Damascus airstrike alone, the seven IRGC terrorists included Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the Iranian general who was a senior Quds military commander involved in planning and executing the October 7 massacre. Zahedi also led Iran’s Hezbollah operations in Syria and Lebanon and worked closely with the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah. Zahedi is a man who also has the blood of Americans on his hands.

Those who defend the Islamic Republic do not defend the Iranian people

Do certain radicals in the West truly believe that a man like this legitimizes retaliation from Iran to Israel?
Even antisemites should care that this same regime has been responsible for the endless suffering of the Iranian people. This is the same regime that has stripped women of their rights by enforcing wearing a hijab. This is the same regime that has unfairly sentenced so many men to death and hung them from cranes for participating in the “Women. Life. Freedom” protests.

The Islamic Republic has a history of targeting Israel, mainly through its proxies. Hamas’s October 7 massacre left 1,200 Israelis dead, with over 130 hostages still in captivity. Seven months later, there has been almost daily bombardment from Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis toward Israel’s northern and southern borders.

Just days ago, an Argentinian court blamed Iran and its proxy Hezbollah for the two attacks in Buenos Aires on the Israeli Embassy in 1992 (which left 29 dead) and two years later at the AMIA Jewish community center (which left 85 dead and more than 300 wounded). Do the same people who say that “Iran has a right to respond” apply that same logic to Israel and justify our right to retaliate? I won’t hold my breath.

Anyone who is defending the Islamic Republic’s actions is pretending to do so on behalf of Iranians. Yet, the streets of Tehran are plastered with graffiti that reads: “Hit them, Israel. Iranians are behind you,” and “Israel is stronger than them.” Social media from Iranians are sending messages of support and peace to Israelis.

Make no mistake, if you are defending the Islamic Republic, you do not speak for the Iranian people. You are doing so because you are the one who hates Israel and wants to see them at war. Knowing that the regime does not care in the slightest about what it will do to its people for the sake of this war, do not claim that you care even the slightest for the people of Iran.

Just be honest and admit your antisemitism and your sick genocidal wish for Israel’s destruction.

The writer is a social media activist with more than 10 years of experience working for Israeli and Jewish causes and cause-based NGOs. She is the co-founder and COO of Social Lite Creative, a digital marketing firm specializing in geopolitics.