Iran-Israel War: A Lifeline For Netanyahu?
The Iran-Israel war has helped strengthen Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu domestically and overseas, just as his grip on power looked vulnerable.
On the eve of launching strikes on Iran, his government looked to be on the verge of collapse, with a drive to conscript ultra-Orthodox Jews threatening to scupper his fragile coalition.
Nearly two years on from Hamas's unprecedented attack in 2023, Netanyahu was under growing domestic criticism for his handling of the war in Gaza, where dozens of hostages remain unaccounted for.
Internationally too, he was coming under pressure including from longstanding allies, who since the war with Iran began have gone back to expressing support.
Just days ago, polls were predicting Netanyahu would lose his majority if new elections were held, but now, his fortunes appear to have reversed, and Israelis are seeing in "Bibi" the man of the moment.
For decades, Netanyahu has warned of the risk of a nuclear attack on Israel by Iran -- a fear shared by most Israelis.
Yonatan Freeman, a geopolitics expert at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said Netanyahu's argument that the pre-emptive strike on Iran was necessary draws "a lot of public support" and that the prime minister has been "greatly strengthened".
Even the opposition has rallied behind him.
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is my political rival, but his decision to strike Iran at this moment in time is the right one," opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote in a Jerusalem Post op-ed.
A poll published Saturday by a conservative Israeli channel showed that 54 percent of respondents expressed confidence in the prime minister.
The public had had time to prepare for the possibility of an offensive against Iran, with Netanyahu repeatedly warning that Israel was fighting for its survival and had an opportunity to "reshape the Middle East."
During tit-for-tat military exchanges last year, Israel launched air raids on targets in Iran in October that are thought to have severely damaged Iranian air defences.
Israel's then-defence minister Yoav Gallant said the strikes had shifted "the balance of power" and had "weakened" Iran.
"In fact, for the past 20 months, Israelis have been thinking about this (a war with Iran)," said Denis Charbit, a political scientist at Israel's Open University.
Since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, Netanyahu has ordered military action in Gaza, against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon and the Huthis in Yemen, as well as targets in Syria where long-time leader Bashar al-Assad fell in December last year.
"Netanyahu always wants to dominate the agenda, to be the one who reshuffles the deck himself -- not the one who reacts -- and here he is clearly asserting his Churchillian side, which is, incidentally, his model," Charbit said.
"But depending on the outcome and the duration (of the war), everything could change, and Israelis might turn against Bibi and demand answers."
For now, however, people in Israel see the conflict with Iran as a "necessary war," according to Nitzan Perelman, a researcher specialised in Israel at the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France.
"Public opinion supports this war, just as it has supported previous ones," she added.
"It's very useful for Netanyahu because it silences criticism, both inside the country and abroad."
In the weeks ahead of the Iran strikes, international criticism of Netanyahu and Israel's military had reached unprecedented levels.
After more than 55,000 deaths in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, and a blockade that has produced famine-like conditions there, Israel has faced growing isolation and the risk of sanctions, while Netanyahu himself is the subject of an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes.
But on Sunday, two days into the war with Iran, the Israeli leader received a phone call from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, while Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has held talks with numerous counterparts.
"There's more consensus in Europe in how they see Iran, which is more equal to how Israel sees Iran," explained Freeman from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Tuesday that Israel was doing "the dirty work... for all of us."
The idea that a weakened Iran could lead to regional peace and the emergence of a new Middle East is appealing to the United States and some European countries, according to Freeman.
But for Perelman, "Netanyahu is exploiting the Iranian threat, as he always has."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Int'l Business Times
41 minutes ago
- Int'l Business Times
Tel Aviv Journalist Reveals Aftermath of Iranian Missile Strike on Her Home: 'I'm Deeply Disturbed'
An American journalist living in Tel Aviv revealed the destruction left behind after an Iranian missile struck her home as conflict between Israel and Iran continues. Shanna Fuld moved to Israel from New York in 2018 to found Israel Daily News, an independent outlet covering news across the country. On Friday, the journalist shared video of the debris left behind after her home, where she also runs the news outlet from, was destroyed by an Iranian missile. In a video shared to Instagram , Fuld walks across uneven debris covering her floor. Chunks of her ceiling can be seen missing and the windows are missing glass. She said her bedroom door and wall were also "blown off" in the attack. "It's devastating to see it like this," she said. "My living room is in tatters, it's in crisis. My kitchen doesn't exist." Fuld described seeing the destruction as "deeply painful." "I feel deeply disturbed. I feel frustrated. I feel angry," she continued. "It takes a lot to build a home, so when it comes crashing down all in two minutes it's really challenging." Despite the devastation, Fuld said she does not regret moving to Israel. She said she plans to continue living in Tel Aviv and vowed to rebuild. Fuld's home was one of several buildings subjected to missile strikes as war between Israel and Iran rages on. The conflict began June 13 when Israel targeted Iranian military and nuclear sites. In turn, Iran fired hundreds of missiles and drones at the country, the Associated Press reported. A week into the fighting, more than 600 Iranians and more than 20 Israelis are believed to have been killed. More than 2,000 people have been wounded in Iran while hundreds have been injured in Israel. As officials seek to put a diplomatic end to the conflict, President Donald Trump announced he would allow for two weeks for the countries to agree to a ceasefire before deciding whether the U.S. will aid Israel's fight. Originally published on Latin Times
DW
4 hours ago
- DW
Iran: Can war with Israel trigger regime change? – DW
The Islamist regime in Tehran has been using the conflict with Israel to rally support and unify the Iranian people behind them. But can Iran's current system really survive the crisis? "Iran will not surrender and will continue to defend itself," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, told the public in a televised speech this week, following days of Israeli bombing and Iran's retaliatory strikes. His exact location is unclear. Rumors and hints from the US and the Israeli governments indicate that he could be personally targeted at some point by an Israeli air strike. If Khamenei is assassinated, he would share the fate of many high-ranking members of his regime who have been killed in recent days. And this has prompted many to ask — how can a regime that fails to protect its own top officials be trusted to protect Iran's borders? "Despite all claims [by the Iranian government] about missile defense or protecting command centers, the absolute inefficiency of this regime has become apparent to the public," exiled Iran expert and sociologist Majid Golpour told DW. Iran's Khamenei defies Trump's call to surrender To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Could this weakness bring about the collapse of the Islamist regime? According to Golpour, this mostly depends on its political alternative. "Now is the time for the nation's political forces to present a common charter — both against the ruling system and against outside threats. But there are still no concrete plans, functioning coalitions and viable structures inside the opposition," Golpour said. Opposition in Iran battered for decades But finding common ground is easier said than done. Even outside Iran, opponents of the regime are split into rival groups. One faction of the Iranian diaspora regards the eldest son of the ousted Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi as a possible interim ruler — or at least a symbol of national unity. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Prince Reza Pahlavi has mostly been living in the US and has tried to position himself as a political leader and opponent of the Islamic Republic. He has no political organization active on Iranian soil. And that's no surprise — the Islamist regime has been suppressing dissenting voices inside Iran for many decades. Any person posing a possible threat to the regime is discredited, harassed, arrested and often sentenced to long prison terms. Still, political scientist Shukriya Bradost, a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute, a US-based think tank, believes there is a chance of a political shift. Iranians protest Israeli strikes To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Bradost believes that a political vacuum could emerge if the regime gets seriously weakened. This would allow opposition groups to organize protests and strikes, and enact wide-reaching change. Will war make Iranians more patriotic? A deciding factor during wartime is the feeling of patriotism linking Iranians to their country. This sense of unity helped the Islamist regime stabilize after the 1979 revolution. When Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, attacked Iran in 1980, people rallied behind the country and persevered through eight years of war that cost the country up to 1 million Iranian lives. The Islamist leaders are once again using nationalist rhetoric to firm up support. "The Islamic Republic has recognized that people no longer identify with the idea of a 'nation of Islam,' but rather see themselves as citizens of Iran. No sensible person can be fooled by this staged nationalism," political scientist and journalist Shahran Tabari told DW. It is however difficult to ascertain what people of Iran feel at this time — except for fear and anger about the escalating conflict happening without their consent. Waiting for Trump's decision Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, famous for her fight for women's rights in Iran, recently called on Israel to stop its attacks and urged a truce across the Middle East. "I want to ask President Trump — not only not to join this war, but to stop it," she said in a video message carried by US broadcaster CNN. Meanwhile, the West seems to be divided on Iran and without a clear strategy for a regime change. While some voices in the US, like former National Security Adviser John Bolton, call for a military intervention, US President Donald Trump seem to be hesitant — for now. Iran's exiled prince urges global support for Iranian people To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video This article was originally published in German
DW
4 hours ago
- DW
Fact check: Protests against the Israel-Iran conflict? – DW – 06/20/2025
A viral video claims to show Israelis protesting against the war with Iran, chanting for peace. But is it real? We analyzed the footage and found clear signs of AI-generated content. The widespread and continuing attacks by Israel and Iran on each other's territories are worrying people around the world. Since Israel attacked Iran, and Iran hit back in retaliation, both countries have been targeting each other. At least 224 people have been killed in Iran , according to Iranian authorities, while human rights groups report significantly higher numbers, with at least 657 people killed . In Israel, officials report 24 deaths. Several thousand people were injured on both sides. In the upcoming two weeks, US President Donald Trump plans to decide whether the US will join the conflict on Israel's side. But what do Israelis think about their country attacking Iran? A viral video allegedly shows what Israelis think of the war. Does this video show protests in Israel? Claim: This video (archived here ) allegedly shows hundreds of Israelis protesting against Israel's "war on Iran." People in the streets waving Israeli flags are shouting: "Stop the war. Iran, we are sorry. We want peace!" The video has been viewed more than 4.9 million times and shared on several social media platforms like Facebook, archived here . DW Fact check: Fake This viral video of people protesting in Israel against the war with Iran is AI-generated Image: TikTok Comments under the video like, "time for regime change in Israel," show that many social media users think the video is real. But it is not — it's AI-generated. Here's how we know. First, look at people's mouth movements in the video. They look artificial and unrealistic. Some of their arms appear and disappear while they chant. Secondly, the quality of the video is quite poor, which makes it easier to believe it might be genuine. Thirdly, if you look closely at the right hand corner of the video, you can see the watermark "Veo." This is a sign that the video was made with the Google AI tool, Veo3 . In the video, you can see the watermark "Veo," which indicates that the video is AI-generated with Google's AI tool Veo3 Image: TikTok Experts like Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who specializes in digital forensics, have seen many fake videos created with this tool lately. "One simple tip-off ... is that all of these videos are either exactly eight seconds in length or composed of short (eights seconds or less) clips composited together," Farid wrote on the social media platform LinkedIn . "Why eight seconds? This is the current maximum length that Veo 3 can generate a continuous shot. Other models have slightly longer limits but 8-10 seconds is typical." This video of supposed Israeli protesters against the war between Israel and Iran is also eight seconds long. Anti-war demonstrations in Israel? This evidence shows that the video is most likely AI-generated. But are there still real protests against this war in Israel? So far, there are no reports of large-scale protests in Israel against the conflict between Israel and couldn't find any videos or images from news agencies showing any large demonstrations either and DW correspondents in Israel confirmed there had been no such protests, by the time of publication. On the contrary, according to a recent opinion poll, there is broad support among Jewish Israelis for the strikes against Iran. Some 83% back Israel's military operations and express their confidence in Israel's security institutions and preparedness for a prolonged conflict. In contrast, the majority of Palestinian Israeli citizens said they opposed the strikes and favored diplomacy over military action. Boris Geilert contributed to this article. Edited by Rachel Baig
