Netanyahu: Tens of Billions of Dollars 'Stolen from the People of Iran' Went Up in Smoke

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, referring to the heavy attacks by his country on Hamas and Hezbollah and the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, stated, 'Tens of billions of dollars of money stolen from the people of Iran went up in smoke.' In a video message to the people of Iran published on X on Thursday, December 13, Netanyahu said, 'The Islamic Republic spent $30 billion for Bashar al-Assad, billions for Hamas, and $20 billion for Hezbollah, and all these financial resources of the Iranian people went up in smoke.' In addition to Israel, the United States and the European Union also consider the extremist group Hamas a terrorist organization. The United States also regards Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, but the European Union has placed its military wing on the blacklist while not considering its political wing as terrorist. In another part of his new message to the people of Iran, Netanyahu referred to Israel's strikes against the Islamic Republic and its proxy groups, stating, 'The historical events we are witnessing today are a chain reaction that could transform the entire Middle East.' Previously, two former members of the Iranian parliament had warned that with the fall of Bashar al-Assad, $30 billion of the Syrian regime's debt to Iran had been lost. Netanyahu also emphasized that Israel 'is only seeking to defend its country,' claiming that in this process, 'it defends civilization against barbarism,' adding, 'The people of Iran want peace, but you are under the rule of a regime that oppresses you and threatens us.' Over the past decades, the Islamic Republic of Iran has always been a financial and military supporter of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Assad regime, and other proxy groups in Iraq, Yemen, and other regions. Since Hamas's attack on Israel in mid-October last year, Israel has targeted Gaza and Lebanon with heavy attacks, killing over 40,000 people in Gaza over 14 months and also killing senior leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah. During this war, Iran has also conducted two direct attacks against Israel using hundreds of suicide drones and missiles, to which Israel has responded by targeting some military and defensive facilities of the Islamic Republic, reportedly rendering Iran's air defense 'ineffective.' In another part of his remarks to the people of Iran, Netanyahu said, 'We want peace, and I have no doubt that the people of Iran know this and want peace with us, but you are under the rule of a regime that threatens us.' Israel itself has been accused by international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, of 'genocide' against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel has repeatedly denied this accusation, emphasizing that it has no intention of eliminating the Palestinian population. In the final part of his remarks to the people of Iran, Netanyahu repeated the slogan 'Women, Life, Freedom' in Persian, stating, 'This is the future of Iran and the future of peace.'