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

• Published date: 17 April 2024
• Author: ZINA RAKHAMILOVA
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

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...