Is Israel's Rising Lion a push for Iranians to rise up?
Amid the escalating conflict, on June 17, Israeli forces said they had killed Iran's wartime chief, Ali Shadmani, in an airstrike on a command centre in central Tehran. Iran has not confirmed the strike.And yet, amid the military strikes, another aim appears to be surfacing, one that goes beyond the battlefield.Netanyahu has hinted at a broader ambition: regime change. "I can tell you this," he said on Saturday, "we have indications that senior leaders in Iran are already packing their bags. They sense what's coming."advertisementThe question is: could the Iranian people themselves be the ones to bring about that change?RISING LION COULD BE IRANIAN PEOPLEVoices from Iranians and Israelis began framing how the Iranians might rise against the Khamenei regime. "Cyrus the Great once freed the Jewish people from captivity. Perhaps today, it is Israel's historic turn to help the Iranian people win their own freedom. I firmly believe that a day will come when Iran and Israel will stand together as inseparable friends. A free Iran is on the horizon (sic)," Iranian analyst Navid Mohebbi wrote on X.Supporters of Operation Rising Lion have emphasised the symbolism behind its name."Rising Lion is a beautiful name for the operation, reminding the people of Iran that Israel is not their enemy, and looks forward to peace and friendship as the Lion rises to where he was before '79," wrote Professor and Senior Research Fellow Eugene Kontorovich.Another person echoed the sentiment."'Rising Lion.' The name of the operation in Iran. I think of the name and history of the Persian and Jewish people and see the current connection of fate between the Jewish people and the Iranian/Persian people, two cultures of lions. Cultures that are similar in courage and strength," a person shared on X.advertisement"We meet again in an era when the Iranian people are captives of a murderous, jihadist regime that took over 47 years ago and whose main goal is global ethnic cleansing that begins with the Jews and religious coercion in Iran and later in the world," they added.COULD IRANIANS RISE UP AGAINST THE KHAMENEI REGIME?In a country of over 90 million where dissent is tightly controlled, it's hard to know just how widespread the anger is.But many Iranians, especially the young, have grown deeply disillusioned with the Islamic Republic. Their frustration isn't just about repression; it's also about economic ruin and corruption that have shattered everyday life.The 2022 protests after Mahsa Amini's death made clear just how deep that anger runs.With strict religious policing, shrinking freedoms for women, and a violent grip on dissent, the regime has alienated a large part of the population. For many, its claim to moral authority is long gone.Former Israeli National Security Council head and IDF reserve major general Giora Eiland told Newsweek that Israel may already be receiving help, directly or indirectly, from Iranians."We can assume that there are three levels of Iranians that, directly or indirectly, might help us," Eiland said.advertisement'First, when we located some of the Israeli groups that were inside Iran and launched drones from short distances against Iranian facilities, they might have been given some assistance from locals. I cannot verify it, but this makes sense."He added, "Secondly, Israel is probably encouraging some groups in Iran, and I cannot exclude even an approach to some of the military forces in Iran — not the Revolutionary Guard, but some of the conventional military or regular Iranian army — that maybe the time is now for them to do something. It might be done in a very, very tacit way, but I cannot exclude it.""And number three," he continued, "in a way, Israel is even formally calling the Iranian [people] to try to rise against the government."As Israeli warplanes struck Iran, exiled opposition figures scrambled to seize the moment. Reza Pahlavi, the late Shah's son, endorsed the strikes from Washington and called on Iranians to rise. Maryam Rajavi's Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MeK), based in France and Albania, released last-minute claims of Iran's covert nuclear work and hinted at fresh underground activity.advertisementIRANIAN UPRISING AGAINST REGIME MIGHT SEEM UNLIKELYBut many remain sceptical. Iran's domestic opposition is not only suppressed but fragmented, from secular dissidents and ethnic militias to Islamist factions and monarchist supporters.Most operate from exile, and none have yet demonstrated the organisational strength or popular backing to pose a serious existential challenge to the regime, according to a report by The Guardian.Inside Iran, these groups are classified as terrorist organisations, and their networks have been repeatedly dismantled or neutralised by the regime's security apparatus over the past four decades."It is important and deeply traumatic and embarrassing for the Islamic Republic, but it would be a little too triumphant to think that it means the regime is going to collapse as a result," Sanam Vakil, the director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House, told The Guardian.The historical evidence of regime change brought about through war suggests that it is rarely the result of aerial attack alone, Vakil said."Unless the United States suddenly decides that it wants to roll in with boots on the ground, and that it is prepared to engage in a military operation like the one in Iraq, it is very hard to see the Islamic republic being toppled overnight," she said.advertisementEven if the Khamenei regime is toppled, the outcome might not be favourable for many Iranians.Vakil noted the possibilities following a regime change: a North Korea-style pariah state, sanctioned but unshakeable; a Syria-like descent into civil war; a military regime like Sisi's Egypt; or an Iraq-style dictatorship, brutal and enduring.As Israel carries on strikes on Iran, hopes of an Iranian uprising remain clouded by uncertainty. While symbolic gestures and exiled voices stir debate, real change from within might take some time. And if it comes, it might not be without chaos.Must Watch
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NDTV
36 minutes ago
- NDTV
Iran's President Was Injured In Israel's Nasrallah-Style Assassination Plot: Report
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First Post
38 minutes ago
- First Post
Israel-Iran war: Netanyahu achieved a tactical victory but failed strategically
President Trump seems unwilling to venture beyond random one-off interventions to a more extended engagement in West Asia, fearing another 'forever war'. The Afghan and Iraq nightmares continue to haunt the US, and its morale seems low read more Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hailed the success of Operation Rising Lion. He said that that Israel has removed 'two existential threats — the threat of destruction via nuclear weapons and the threat of destruction via 20,000 ballistic missiles'. AFP Israel's showdown with Iran, following the enormous destruction of Iranian proxies like Hamas, the Houthis, and Hezbollah, was imminent. For most of us, it was just a matter of time. Regime change in Syria and Iran's rapid progress on attaining the critical level of 60 percent uranium enrichment made it inevitable. 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STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Further, Iran, a country of 1.65 million square km, more than triple the size of Iraq, renders itself immune to any regime change without bloody ground battles involving the large-scale use of infantry. Indeed, Israel alone is incapable of a long-drawn-out ground troop movement, given its size and resources. Whether the US is even willing to give it a thought? The larger question here is that of the American intervention. President Trump seems unwilling to venture beyond random one-off interventions to a more extended engagement in West Asia, fearing another 'forever war'. The Afghan and Iraq nightmares continue to haunt the US, and its morale seems low. After the assassination of top-level commanders, octogenarian Khamenei faces a similar threat. To prevent chaos, he is likely to choose a successor. 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Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
'Strange phenomenon!': Iranian official says Israel used supernatural forces in war; accuses Netanyahu of 'jinn' tactics
Abdollah Ganji (Image credits: X @IranWireEnglish) A senior Iranian figure has claimed that Israel employed occult powers and supernatural forces during the recent 12-day conflict between the two countries. Abdollah Ganji, the former editor of the IRGC-linked newspaper Javan, made the statement on Wednesday in a post on X. 'After the recent war, a few sheets of paper were found on the streets of Tehran containing talismans with Jewish symbols,' Ganji wrote calling it a 'strange phenomenon!' He also referred to previous unverified reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had met with occult specialists during the early stages of the Gaza war. 'In the first year of the Gaza war, news had also leaked about Netanyahu meeting with occult specialists,' he said. The Iranian official further claimed that the use of supernatural methods by foreign intelligence services had long been warned about by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei. 'Hostile countries and Western and Hebrew intelligence services use occult sciences and jinn entities for espionage,' he quoted. The post quickly sparked online backlash and mockery. Israel's political advisor to the permanent representative at the United Nations, Waleed Gadban, responded sarcastically by reposting a Mossad message with the Farsi caption, 'Jinn, jinn are everywhere,' followed by a ghost emoji. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like So sánh mức trượt giá: Hợp đồng tương lai (CFD) Bitcoin vs Ethereum IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo Several users ridiculed Ganji's comments. One wrote, 'If you say this nonsense anywhere else in the world, they'd send you to a mental hospital.' Another added, 'Mr Ganji, as soon as I was about to curse you out, I saw that friends had already pointed out that you're an idiot, so we shouldn't take you seriously.'
