Question: Operation "Al-Aqsa Storm" was a big surprise for the Zionist regime. Political observers described the operation as a strategic surprise for Tel Aviv. Considering that the Zionists had a shaky political situation before the start of this operation because of the internal protests that were taking place, what is your assessment of their situation after Operation Al-Aqsa Storm?
S. Razavi: You see, there is a principle in general that the foreign element or the foreign enemy always causes unity and solidarity inside a country, and this has been a general principle in all societies. We’ve even seen some wars throughout history where some countries waged against a foreign country in order to create unity and solidarity domestically so that they could achieve the goals they desired.
Naturally, this issue can be seen to some extent in the current discussion revolving around the issue of Palestine and the Zionist regime. The various factions of the Zionist regime, which were fighting and arguing with each other until yesterday, have become united to a certain extent because of the Al-Aqsa Storm operation. For example, Yair Lapid, the head or leader of the Yesh Atid Party, which is considered an opposition party, suggested to Netanyahu that they should form a national unity government. There are even talks about Benny Gantz joining Netanyahu's cabinet.
But nevertheless, the discord that exists within the regime cannot be brushed aside. A key exemplar of this issue or this subject is that Netanyahu is the main cause of this defeat. This is because, with plans such as the judicial reform plan and by bringing in extremists such as Ben Gvir and Smotrich to his cabinet, Netanyahu has in fact made the internal conditions of the regime tense and has created space for divisions and protests as well as the problems caused by these divisions and protests.
So, Netanyahu is the main person that is to be blamed for this incident, that is, the Al-Aqsa Storm operation. Considering the things that I mentioned, because of Netanyahu, a major part of the Zionist regime’s attention and the energy in its political, military, and security structure was directed to domestic security. Thus, they became neglectful of the Resistance Front, Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, etc. This neglect resulted in the surprise and defeat that we are currently witnessing.
Naturally, this view will continue into the future and will become more profound and obvious. Even now, some Israeli media and their analysts are saying that Netanyahu is the main culprit and we should not let this battle end and then see what will happen to Netanyahu. They say that Netanyahu should step down right now so that Israel and the Israelis won’t have to face other problems or newer problems more than what they’ve already encountered.
Question: During the joint graduation ceremony for the cadets studying in the academies of Iran’s Armed Forces, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution stated, “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm managed to destroy some of the main structures of the usurping regime’s rule, which cannot be easily rebuilt.” Considering the blows that the Zionists suffered in different dimensions during this operation, what is your analysis about this section of Imam Khamenei’s statements?
S. Razavi: I believe this is one of those accurate sentences that needs to be clarified, because the passing of time will show the collapse of the Israeli regime's military, security, and intelligence structures. In my opinion, the most important surprise was the surprise they received with regards to their intelligence. The Zionist regime considers itself as the top intelligence organization. The Israeli Military Intelligence, Aman, and the so-called horrific Mossad could not provide the regime leaders with the necessary information about what was happening in the 365-kilometer Gaza Strip. They were not informed about what was going on.
Although the Israelis had aerial espionage equipment, drones, advanced cyber espionage devices that enabled them to infiltrate cell phones in particular, many informants in the Gaza Strip, and the like in terms of intelligence, they failed to find out about this incident and were caught by surprise. Some Israeli analysts believe this surprise was unprecedented in the last 50 years, that is, since the fourth Arab-Israeli war which took place in 1973. They think that it might be even bigger than that, because, in that incident, Israel was dealing with two important countries, such as Egypt and Syria. But in this case, it was the Palestinian fighters such as Hamas and the Islamic Jihad Movement who created such an unprecedented event. So, one of the structures that collapsed was the intelligent structure.
Another structure is the military structure. The Zionist regime’s army still considers itself the most important, dominant, and powerful army in West Asia. They are looking to obtain the most advanced equipment, especially from the US. For example, in the region, only the Israelis have the F-35, the fifth-generation American fighter jets.
They have two squadrons of 50 aircraft at their disposal, and they’ve ordered the third one, which is about 75 in total. In the next couple of years, maybe one or two years later, it will amount to 75 aircraft.
They have the Dolphin nuclear submarines. They have hundreds of other planes, including F-16s, F-18s, F-15s, and the like. Well, in terms of military equipment few countries can really match it. Yet, such an army that boasts these things hasn’t been able to provide the necessary resources and forces to face about a thousand Palestinian fighters in the Gaza strip. What they have announced themselves is that about a thousand Palestinian fighters have entered the 1948 territories from the Gaza strip.
Some Palestinian forces even went to some Zionist bases and houses with prior information and awareness and arrested a number of commanders and military leaders. This was done with previously-gained information. In other words, not only did the Israelis lack the necessary information, but it was the Palestinians who used the required information to reach their own goals.
So, they were also terribly overpowered from a military point of view. They were defeated. If they want to rebuild themselves and rebuild their military, security, and intelligence structures, it will obviously take many years. The same way that the Merkava tanks lost their prestige and status after the 33-day war in 2006, it seems that after the Al-Aqsa Storm Operation, the dominance and status of the Israeli army’s intelligence forces and security organizations will definitely be under question, and it will take years until they can rebuild themselves.
Question: The massive number of casualties among the Zionists, which are reported to be hundreds dead and thousands wounded, was unexpected for Tel Aviv. Additionally, during Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, the Zionists were faced with a wide and comprehensive operation in the sky and on the ground, and they failed to prevent the continuation of these attacks or to limit their scope. This shows an irreparable intelligence defeat for the Zionists who always boasted their superior intelligence. What is your idea on this?
S. Razavi: One of the main characteristics of the current battle is the high number of casualties and prisoners that the Zionists have given. If we think back on the previous wars that took place between the Zionist regime and the Palestinians of the Gaza strip — that is, the 22-day war, the 8-day war, the 51-day war, and the 11-day war — the Israelis usually had 10, 20, 30, or a few dozen casualties at most, while the Palestinians had hundreds, 200, 300, 400, or a thousand casualties.
This is the first battle and war where we see that the Israeli casualties are more than the Palestinian martyrs, at least so far, during the first few days. It is the first battle which the Palestinians have succeeded in not only directly taking hostages, but they also managed to take over a hundred hostages who are mostly soldiers. It is the first battle in which the Palestinians have managed to go deep into the lands separated in 1948. The plan and program that Hezbollah was going to implement in the future war with the Israelis was implemented by the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Well, these characteristics, which are specific to this battle, have in fact led to an irreparable defeat for the Zionist regime. Certainly, the Zionist regime will no longer be able to boast about its army’s special status, or the skill of its pilots and military and security commanders, or its radar and telecommunication equipment, or its defense systems such as the Iron Dome, Flakhan Dawood, etc. This is not something that can be forgotten.
And in fact, as previously mentioned, it is not just a defeat. It is an irreparable defeat that will remain in the minds of Israelis for years, the same way the 1973 Yom Kippur War has remained in their memories much more that the other three Arab-Israeli wars, i.e., the wars of 1948, 1956, and 1967. The Operation Al-Aqsa Storm will be engraved more distinctly in the minds of Israelis, even more and far better than the other Gaza-Israel wars.
Question: Many media outlets, especially the Arab world media, have described Operation Al-Aqsa Storm as a hard slap in the face of the normalizers of relations with the Zionist regime. In your opinion, how will this operation affect the process of normalization of relations between Arab governments and the Zionist regime?
S. Razavi: Look, if we first answer the question of why some governments went toward normalization with this regime and whether those factors and matters have been affected now, we can answer the question of what will happen in the future.
In my opinion, what made the UAE, Bahrain, and others go toward normalization with the Zionist regime was they felt that Israel is a government like other governments, that it acts in a normal way and has an administration, government, sovereignty, land, population, and recognition from all the countries of the world, and, therefore, it must be recognized as a reality.
In addition, they felt that it was, anyway, a powerful and democratic government in the region. At the same time, they felt that the Zionist regime was a government with which relations would bring benefits and positive economic results, that it was a government that had the support of major world powers. Well, naturally, such an interpretation of this government causes them to turn a blind eye to the issue of Palestine and go toward normalization.
Meanwhile, what this operation, Al-Aqsa Storm, did was show that this regime is not a normal government. Why? Because its people are not really indigenous. As soon as something happens, its people go toward reverse migration. They seek to move to Europe and the US. If it were a normal government, like Palestine, like Iran, like other countries, its people would never run away. They would fight to the death and defend their land.
Therefore, this regime is not a normal, ordinary, or natural government and is not a regional reality. Also, even though its economic relations have apparently expanded, especially with the UAE, one should know that the Zionist regime does not want any Islamic country to develop, grow, and progress. Why? Because it has defined all 50 or so Islamic countries as its potential or actual enemies, and one would never treat its enemy in a normal way.
On this account, it can be said that this war has had an impact. In addition to showing that Israeli residents are not natural and indigenous residents, it has also exposed the brutality of the regime’s leaders in the attacks on Gaza. It has shown that this regime faces opposition from many communities in the region and the world. It has shown that it violates many human principles and human rights when it sees fit. Furthermore, it can be said that the entire Islamic world is against this entity and its behavior.
Obviously, such an atmosphere, caused by Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, has caused troubles for those who normalized their relations and will hinder the progress of normalization for those who were looking forward to doing it. For example, if Saudi Arabia seeks to go toward normalization now, it will naturally face the opposition of Islamic communities, public opinion of Islamic countries, and even that of Saudi Arabia. And this is a consequence of Operation Al-Aqsa Storm which has indeed created an obstacle to normalization.
Question: Given that the Operation Al-Aqsa Storm is regarded as a turning point in the activities of the Resistance Front and also in the history of the Palestinian struggle against Zionism, such that the Leader of the Islamic Revolution called the October 7 operation of the Resistance a devastating earthquake which will not remain limited to the military field and will spread to other fields as well, in your opinion, how will these consequences manifest themselves in the social, political, and economic fields in the Zionist society?
S. Razavi: In fact, if one has proper information about the Israeli society and about its structure and economic issues, they will better understand the term devastating earthquake. Why? Because, in my opinion, the consequences of this incident will be extensive in the political domain, at least equal to the political consequences of the 33-day war. Remember that the 33-day war between Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Zionist regime, which began with the capture of only two or three soldiers, or keeping their remains, ended with the exchange of more than 400 Arab Hezbollah and Palestinian prisoners. What was the result on the other side?
The result was the formation of the Winograd Commission by the Israelis that led to blaming military-political leaders of the time such as the then-prime minister Ehud Olmert, the IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz, and minister of defense Amir Peretz, and ultimately led to their resignation. It seems that this operation will also lead to the formation of a commission like Winograd, the result of which will be to declare the failure of and blame Netanyahu, Gallant, and others who are decision-makers in the political and military arena of Israel.
Well, this is the least political consequence. Naturally, this operation will affect the structure of the parties and their size, as well as the number of their votes. In other words, with the holding of early elections, we will see changes in Israeli parties. Just as after the 33-day war, we witnessed the gradual disappearance and destruction of the largest and first Israeli party, the Kadima party, we should also expect to witness such an earthquake in Israeli political parties.
Things will certainly happen in the social domain as well. For example, one of the hot topics now is that the presence of religious and extremist parties in Netanyahu’s cabinet and issues such as the judicial reform plan have caused Israelis to focus on these domestic issues and neglect other issues happening around them. Well, such a consequence will naturally affect the position and socio-political base of decision-makers and parties, and it seems that we will witness these changes in the social arena as well.
In the economic field, there will certainly be grave losses in several aspects. One is the direct damage caused by the destruction of resistance attacks, whether around the Gaza Strip or in Ashkelon, Tel Aviv and other cities that have been hit by rocket attacks. Because this time, unlike the previous times, the success of the Iron Dome in the face of Palestinian rockets has been limited, and the damage has been more extensive. And the figures related to the extent of damage will come out later.
Part of the damage is due to security forces calling up about 100,000 reservists, which comes at a cost. Part of it is related to the equipment used. In the first few days, it was announced that, if I am not mistaken, the bombs used on the Gaza Strip were five times more than those used in the 33-day war. They have apparently faced a shortage of ammunition, and the US has allowed them to use part of the American reserves in the Negev, south of occupied Palestine.
In addition, the missiles, especially the Tamir missiles, which are used for the Iron Dome, also cost a lot. Each Tamir missile costs at least $50,000. And right on the first day, it was announced that about 5,000 rockets were launched from the Palestinian side of the Gaza Strip toward Israeli cities. Well, confronting them means emptying their Tamir and defensive missiles. And they cannot be refilled so easily. We should see the damage from this angle as well. In general, it can be said that this devastating earthquake is gradually showing its economic, political, military and social effects.
Question: The US secretary of defense recently announced that Washington will send aircraft carriers and warships to the Eastern Mediterranean to support Israel. Also, the US, France, the UK, Germany and Italy issued a joint statement emphasizing their support for the Zionist regime. In such a situation and given the emphasis the Leader of the Islamic Revolution placed on Islamic unity and integrity as a deterrent power against oppressive powers, how can the adoption of a single policy and strategy by Islamic countries in support of Palestine help the resistance achieve victory?
S. Razavi: Look, first of all, the announcement of the support of Europe and the US was nothing new. In addition, sending an aircraft carrier is more about preserving their posture and in fact prestige. Because this aircraft carrier cannot take any special action in support of the Israelis. Additionally, in my opinion, the opposite can be the case, namely that Biden is not too upset about the weakening of Netanyahu. Because in the last ten months that Netanyahu has been in power, there has been a tense relationship between Biden and Netanyahu.
Biden wouldn’t mind dealing with a weakened Netanyahu who would listen to him. Biden does not like the bullying, independent Netanyahu. Well, if we look at the consequences of this war in the form of predictions, we will see that one outcome of this war is a defeated and weakened Netanyahu. This is what Biden would like. Therefore, we should not consider the US regime’s support for the Zionist regime as a support for Netanyahu personally. Rather, it is more of a permanent support for the Zionist regime that has always been declared and was declared this time as well.
Europe is likewise of course, and one can even say that the US and the Israelis mostly criticized the Europeans. Now, in the current situation, it is natural for Netanyahu to announce that he has the backing of the entire so-called international community, or at least the Western world. But on the other side, the next point is about Arab Islamic countries.
One point that I think is a source of joy is that almost unlike the 33-day war period, when many Arab countries condemned Hezbollah, that atmosphere is not there, thank God. Why? Because they really see that the Palestinians from the Gaza Strip are actually rising up to defend themselves. Because months and years of Israeli oppression and atrocities, the killing of Palestinians on a daily basis, the destruction of their homes, the expansion of settlements, the repeated attacks on the al-Aqsa Mosque, all of these, and especially the 16-year permanent siege of the Gaza Strip, led to this outburst of the emotions of the Palestinians in the form of Operation Al-Aqsa Storm.
So, the Islamic Arab countries also see these points, and they are also aware. And unlike Europe and the US, they no longer view the Hamas movement as a terrorist and aggressive group. Rather, they have a supportive view toward Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, and the Palestinian society and its entirety.
Well, when they have such a view, they should naturally offer support, even though some of them, such as the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, and Turkey, have to look both ways because of their relationship with the Zionist regime. They say both sides should exercise restraint and such things. But the community of the Islamic world and the public opinion of the Islamic countries are all in favor of Palestine and against the Zionist regime, due to the terrorist nature of the Zionists and the massacres they perpetrated against the Palestinians over the years.
So, God willing, we should be able to correctly clarify what happened, which is actually a reaction and a defense of the first shrine of Muslims, of the al-Aqsa Mosque, of the Holy Shrine, of Palestine, and of the origin of the prophets, al-Quds. If this is the attitude in Islamic countries, naturally, not just Islamic societies but also Islamic governments will be united.
God willing, Iranians and we in the form of the media, in the form of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, in the form of support, especially during Friday prayers and in any other possible way, can take a step in this path so that we can make this bravery and praiseworthy behavior of the Palestinian fighters into a lasting event in the history of Palestine. Naturally, the greater the support for the Palestinian resistance, the more tireless and resilient the Palestinian resistance will show itself, and in turn, it will drive the Zionist regime and even its supporters to retreat.
Salman Razavi has a PhD in Regional Studies from the University of Tehran and is an expert in West Asia affairs. He has many publications in various, reputed national journals. His main area of research interest is Palestinian and Israeli affairs.
(The views expressed in this interview are interviewee’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of Khamenei.ir.)
Comment