A banner reading, “We stand with Israel” and expressing support for an Iranian dissident activist who recently visited the Jewish state was hung in Tehran on Wednesday, the London-based Persian-language Iran International television station reports.
The extraordinary show of support, which was unfurled on a bridge in the Iranian capital at nighttime, comes as the Middle East is engulfed in violence promoted by the Islamic Republic and amid mounting concerns of a regional war.
The large white banner with red writing read: “We stand with Israel and “Vahid is our voice,” referring to Vahid Beheshti, who addressed lawmakers at the Knesset during a visit to Israel earlier this month.
A banner hung by citizens from a bridge in Tehran says “We stand with Israel” and “Vahid is our voice”, referring to Iranian dissident activist @Vahid_Beheshti who recently visited Israel and addressed Knesset to convey the same message from Iranian people to Israelis. pic.twitter.com/QH3TMIn6mi
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) January 17, 2024
Beheshti told the Knesset’s Israel Victory Caucus, “Soon you will have to deal with the elephant in the room, which is the Iranian government, and you should not be afraid of attacking Iranian bases in Iran. This is the only language they understand.
“The good news is that you have an army of 80 million Iranians who are thirsty for freedom and democracy, who since 2009 have been trying to overthrow the government but have not yet succeeded because of the barbaric violence of the Iranian regime. If you support the Iranian people, you will see how they will lower the head of the octopus and we will all experience peace,” Beheshti continued.
He said the Iranian regime is at its weakest point since it seized power in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
“Help us overthrow the government, try to imagine what the Middle East would look like without the Iranian government, just imagine,” Beheshti said.
Earlier this month, Israeli Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel told JNS that Iran is the underlying cause of the war with Hamas in Gaza and the other conflicts in the region.