Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu published a video address aimed at the Iranian people on Tuesday, urging them to stand up for freedom against a regime that, he says, wastes their money on “wars that can’t be won.”
It was the second video he has published this year addressing ordinary Iranians and appealing to a hope for peace.
In his speech, Netanyahu used the “Woman, Life, Freedom” slogan that has become popular among dissidents and opponents of the regime abroad, and which refers to a protest movement that began in Iran two years ago with the death in detention of a Kurdish Iranian woman, Mahsa/Jina Amini, who was arrested for not wearing a hijab.
Netanyahu said:
A few weeks ago, I spoke directly to the people of Iran. Millions of people around the world, millions in Iran itself saw that video. And after they saw it, many Iranians reached out to Israel. So today, I want to once again address the people of Iran.
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 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.
But instead, Khamenei exposed the regime’s brutality and turned the world against your country. He robbed you of money that should have been yours.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.
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. They would receive world class education. You would receive beautiful roads. Advanced hospitals. Clean water. You know, Israel has the world’s most advanced desalination system and we’d be happy to help rebuild Iran’s collapsing water infrastructure. These and so many other things are the things that you could have.But that’s what Khamenei’s regime denies you every single day. They obsess about destroying Israel, rather than about building Iran. What a shame.
Another attack on Israel would simply cripple Iran’s economy. It would rob you of many more billions of dollars. 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. That’s it.But there is also good news. Every day, that regime gets weaker. Every day, Israel gets stronger. The world has seen but a fraction of our power.
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.
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.
The regime wants to destroy your future as they seek to destroy our state. Well, we won’t let that happen. 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.
In 2018, Netanyahu also addressed the Iranian people, offering them Israeli water technology in light of the regime’s failures to produce adequate supplies of clean, fresh water for Iran’s needs.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
