WANA (OCT 15) – During the ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel, a recent development on Iran’s National Channel 3 TV has raised eyebrows.

 

Last night, the channel featured a controversial subtitle, which read: “You can send your name to 3000212 to participate in the campaign ‘I am your (Israel) opponent.'”

 

This seemingly provocative message stirred speculation both within and beyond Iran’s borders. While some interpreted it as a call to arms, it appears more of a rhetorical gesture, symbolizing the Iranian people’s unwavering readiness to stand against their adversaries in any circumstance.

 

It is said that the level of acceptance of this campaign against Israel was such that it went off the circuit for a few hours last night.

 

Last night, the system registered only 300,000 people who sent the hashtag #I am your opponent to 3000212 in three hours. So far, about 2.4 million people have registered.

 

This is not the first time we have seen such eagerness among Iranians to fight against Israel. In the Syrian war with ISIS, in addition to the Iranian official military advisers who arrived in Syria to help the Syrian army forces on two fronts against ISIS and Israel, thousands of Iranian youths announced their readiness to go to Syria, to the extent that the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps) had to declare a law prohibiting the sending of non-cadre forces to prevent this amount of reception.

 

The interpretation of this subtitle as a military recruitment move within Iran is uncommon. But international media outlets have been quick to seize upon it as an alleged effort to assemble an army against Israel.

 

This opportunity seizing is yet another act of Israel in its attempts to play the victim role and justify its attacks against Palestine.

 

Amid these events, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Amir Abdollahian, has been tirelessly garnering support from Islamic nations by traveling all over the region for the Palestinian cause. During a recent meeting with Ismail Haniyah, a political Leader of the Palestinian Islamist Group of Hamas, Abdollahian repeated Iran’s steadfast commitment to its principles and values in supporting the Palestinian people.

 

“If the Israeli regime’s crimes in Gaza continue, any possibility in the region is likely, and the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue its attempts to halt Israeli war crimes,” Iran FM noted.

Iran has consistently warned the Israeli side during the past days in various ways. These sets of warnings were more severe than anyone expected. This issue was discussed less to prevent further igniting the tension in the region.

 

“We announced to the Zionist regime through its supporters that if it does not stop its crimes in Gaza, Iran cannot be a mere observer… If the scope of the war expands, heavy damages will be inflicted on America.” Amir Abdullahian said.

 

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, recently stated, “This devastating earthquake, the attack on Israel, has succeeded in dismantling key structures of the usurping regime, which will not be easily rebuilt.” He placed responsibility on the Zionist regime for bringing this calamity upon itself, emphasizing the gravity of their actions.

 

In light of these events, it is crucial to emphasize that the controversial subtitle on Channel 3 does not necessarily align with these warnings and threats against Israel obviously because Iran has repeatedly stated that, if it were to engage in war with Israel, it possesses the capabilities to do so solely through its missile arsenal, without any need for military recruitment.

 

Over the past two decades, Iran has spent all its energy, time, and money on making missiles, drones, and special weapons so that regional and extra-regional regimes cannot easily threaten this country, and most importantly, that there is no need for many human forces like the eight-year war between Iran and Iraq.

 

In addition, let’s not forget that Iran has enough proxy forces in the region to recruit even for proxy wars. The common point of all these forces is opposition to Israel.


R.Ganji & S.Khezri 

An anti-Israel billboard is seen in a street in Tehran, Iran, October 10, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency)

An anti-Israel billboard is seen in a street in Tehran, Iran, October 10, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency)