On May 17, he accused America of supporting ISIS and Israel. He claimed the same day that Israel was weak and that the Islamic world should unify against it. He called the “Zionist regime” a “rabid, predatory dog.”Iran’s government media and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) takes a cue from the leader’s language. For instance, an article on May 17 at Fars News called Israel “cancerous” and compared it to a “virus”, a term used during the pandemic to compare Israel to COVID-19.On Wednesday Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also bashed Israel, claiming that Islam commands that people be in “conflict with the oppressors” and that Palestinians are being persecuted. He said that the US is involved in a “conspiracy against Muslims” and that the Palestinian people must “resist” until they are “liberated.”Mohammad Bagheri, head of the Iranian armed forces, also predicted that Israel would be destroyed. He slammed “normalization” with Israel and the “Deal of the Century.” He said that Israel’s allies could not ensure the survival of the “Zionist regime” and that the strategic depth of Palestinian “resistance” would defeat Israel. He said he had heard “whispers” from within Tel Aviv that the “usurper” would be defeated.Bagheri compared the battle with Zionism to the battle with coronavirus. He said that Quds Day and the Islamic Revolution’s “strategic and historic strategy” was to confront Israel, but that the coronavirus crisis had made social distancing necessary. “Millions of anti-Zionists have distanced themselves, but the holy wrath of the resistance fighters and the hearts of all the oppressed…who have their divine nature more than ever amid coronavirus, have been sympathetic to the Palestinian people.”The avalanche of Iranian threats to Israel is portrayed as common and usual. In 2012, the IRGC predicted a war that would destroy Israel, and in January 2019 the guard corps said it would destroy Israel. Comments made in a similar vein appeared in April 2018 and September 2019.The portrayal of these comments as usual or normal is in contrast to the norms of the international community, however. No other country has such a systematic campaign, from the top down, aimed at the destruction of another country, and using terms such as “cancerous” and “virus” to describe it. Iran’s threats rarely receive a rebuke from countries that embrace Iran, including Turkey, Russia or the European Union.The Zionist regime has no power or strength on its own. Without help, it cannot even stand on its feet. Today, two factors are upholding this regime:1. US’s unconditional, shameless support 2. Arab and Islamic govts refraining from supporting #Palestine
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) May 19, 2020
Iran’s threats against Israel - unprecedented in international community
The avalanche of threats is portrayed as common and usual • Rouhani: Palestinian people must “resist” until they are “liberated”; Iranian armed forces head: Israel will be defeated.
