Iranian Students Defy Regime’s Violence, Resume Protests Amid Hopes for Israeli Strike
- Mahamunimodi Team
- Feb 26
- 2 min read
Amid the mounting unrest inside Iran and ongoing international tension, many Iranians opposed to the ruling regime say they are eagerly anticipating external military intervention, particularly from the United States. However, according to a local activist identified as Ali in an interview with KAN Reshet Bet, there is a distinct preference among protesters for an Israeli strike rather than an American one. He explained that this preference stems largely from perceptions about the nature of foreign military action: “we are waiting every minute and second for a US strike,” he said, but many believe that American airstrikes would cause widespread devastation resembling the destruction seen in Iraq and Afghanistan. In contrast, he argued that Israeli military operations in June demonstrated a higher degree of precision and avoided harm to civilians or economic infrastructure — focusing instead on targeted hits against elements of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and senior regime leadership.
Ali also gave a stark assessment of the Iranian government’s domestic repression. He claimed that over the past two months, the regime has brutally killed, dismembered, and injured large numbers of protestors during nationwide demonstrations, actions he described as part of a systematic effort to suppress dissent. According to his account, hundreds of thousands have been wounded, and the violence extended even to abductions and killings of university students — tactics he said were intended to “choke the protests in their infancy.”
On the subject of the renewed student protests that have erupted as universities reopen, Ali described campuses as frontlines in the resistance, where young demonstrators continue to clash with the Basij paramilitary forces loyal to the regime. Chanting slogans like “Death to Khamenei”, students have confronted security forces determined to stifle organized opposition.
When asked if he feared speaking openly to an Israeli broadcaster, Ali responded with a grim Persian proverb, recognizing the personal risk of reprisals from Iranian authorities — yet framing even the possibility of his execution as a form of respite, saying that “at least I will rest, at least I won’t feel hungry.”
In a further twist, Ali said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has gained an almost ironic popularity among many Iranians, earning the affectionate nickname “Bibi-Gol” (“Bibi the flower”), a sign of protestors’ frustration with their own government and admiration for perceived precision in Israeli military actions. He also noted that some Iranians are learning Hebrew — not out of cultural affinity, but in part because regime-sponsored Hebrew-learning platforms remain open, initially intended to equip citizens for a future conflict, possibly including espionage.
The broader picture, as described by these voices within Iran, is one of a population caught between brutal internal repression and hopes of foreign intervention — a dynamic that reflects both the intensity of domestic dissent and the geopolitical tensions swirling around Tehran’s relationship with the West and with Israel.
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