Israel says supports Iranian people’s ‘struggle for freedom’

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Sunday that Israel supports the Iranian people in what he described as their “struggle for freedom”, as major protests shake the Islamic republic.

Iran has been gripped by days of deadly protests, initially ignited by anger over the rising cost of living but rapidly evolving into a broader movement challenging the theocratic government that has ruled the country since the 1979 revolution.

“We support the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom and wish them success,” Saar said in a video interview posted on his X account.

“We think they deserve freedom… We don’t have any hostility with the people of Iran.

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“We have a huge problem, which is not only our problem, it’s a regional and international problem, with the Iranian regime which is the number one exporter of terrorism, radicalism,” Saar added.

Iran has repeatedly accused the United States and Israel of inciting violence and trying to undermine the Islamic republic’s national unity.

Arch-foes Iran and Israel engaged in a war in June, with an unprecedented Israeli attack on Iranian military and nuclear facilities.

The United States briefly took part in the strikes, hitting three major Iranian nuclear sites.