Does Netanyahu’s message to Iran envision the possibility of a shared future? - opinion

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently posted an important online message to the Iranian people. In the almost four-minute clip, he presented several key messages.

1. Getting noticed: While the video was directed at the people of Iran, the opening message was clearly directed at the Iranian regime.

 He said that millions of people had seen his first video and that many Iranians had reached out to Israel after that. The takeaway? There are people in Iran who are bypassing their government and are in direct contact with the Jewish state.

2. Economic vulnerability: Netanyahu revealed that the second attack on Israel, in October, by the regime of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei cost a whopping $2.3 billion. 

He suggested that while the roughly 200 ballistic missiles caused only limited damage to Israel, the damage caused to Iran – by diverting such a huge sum away from essential services, such as education, healthcare, and transportation – is enormous. 

3. Vision of freedom: Netanyahu asked viewers to imagine how different life could be if Iran were free. 

He intimated how much better life would be if people could speak their minds without fear, and without wondering if they would be carted off to prison. For many Iranians, I expect the vision that Netanyahu asked them to imagine is one for which they have been praying for a long time. 

4. Future of partnership: Netanyahu implied that billions of dollars could, and should, be invested in the children of Iran instead of “wars that can’t be won.”

As an example, he cited investment in clean water, saying that Israel has the world’s most advanced desalination system and would be happy to help rebuild Iran’s collapsing water infrastructure. 

Israel itself consists of 60% desert, with only one freshwater source – Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee). 

Despite having limited water resources, Israel now produces 85% of the country’s drinkable water through desalination technology. Israel has even been able to export water to neighboring countries, like Jordan. 

In addition, Israel is the world leader when it comes to wastewater recycling, water-saving education, and water-reducing agriculture systems.

“These, and so many other things, are the things that you could have,” Netanyahu told the Iranian people. “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.”

5. The cost of another attack: Netanyahu said that another attack on Israel would simply cripple Iran’s economy. Some commentators have taken this to mean the amount the attack would directly cost Iran, as well as the cost of Israel’s response to the Iranian regime.

So what could be Israel’s response to a potential third attack? 

Netanyahu said he recently spoke with Mike Evans, the evangelical adviser to President-elect Donald Trump. 

He suggested that we could see an Israeli strike on Iran’s oil sites, which would bankrupt the Iranian regime. 

He said that as a result, Iran would no longer be able to fund its terror proxies across the Middle East (i.e., Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, Islamic Resistance in Iraq, Islamic Jihad, etc.). He also indicated that this would weaken Iran’s grip internally. 

Evans also predicted that an Israeli victory would mean that within one year of Trump’s inauguration, we would see the Abraham Accords expand. Remember, these were the first peace agreements between Israel and Arab and Muslim states in three decades, which were signed in 2020 during Trump’s first term in office. 

Evans also highlighted that Saudi Arabia would join the accords, bringing the entire Sunni Muslim world with it, which would be a game-changer for Israel’s future.

6. The Iranian people are feared: Netanyahu said that there’s one thing Khamenei’s regime fears more than Israel, and that’s the people of Iran. 

He said that is why the regime spends so much time and money on trying to control them, and he encouraged the people not to lose hope or curb their dreams for zan, zendegi, azadi (women, life, freedom).

THE CRUX of Netanyahu’s video message appears to be an appeal to the people of Iran, with whom Israel once had strong relations, to stay strong because their time is coming. 

The message ended with Netanyahu saying that Israel and others in the free world stand with the Iranian people… and that one day, in a free Iran, Israelis and Iranians will together build a future of prosperity and peace.

Who knows – maybe in a post-Khamenei future, Israel will not only share its clean water technology with Iran but also see Iran joining the Abraham Accords. 

The author is an award-winning reporter on Israel and can be seen on global TV news channels, including WION in India and Newsmax in the US. Her book, Tikkun Olam: Israel vs COVID-19, was listed in Book Authority’s Top 50 Diplomacy Books. Find her on X: @JodieCohen613