Netanyahu prolonging conflict, time for Iran to respond: Tehran professor

Tehran University professor Foad Izadi on Wednesday staunchly defended Iran’s missile attack on Israel, framing it as a necessary response to what he described as Israeli aggression.
In an exclusive interview with India Today TV, Izadi pointed to the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July as one of the catalysts for the Iranian assault that raised fears that the Middle East could witness an all-out war.
“If Israel, or any other country, attacks Iran, there’s going to be a response,” he stated.
Izadi, an associate professor at Tehran University, said Iran has “hundreds of thousands of missiles” and can sustain military operations for “many years to come.” He claimed the Islamic republic is self-sufficient in its military arsenal, unlike Israel, which he claimed relies on external aid from US and other allies.
Asked if Muslim nations were divided on the Iranian escalation against Israel, Izadi asserted that the people were largely in support of Tehran’s actions, adding that Iran was the only nation actively supporting Palestinians’ rights and providing Gaza with military assistance.
In a swipe at Turkey, he suggested that some countries only offer “lip service” in their support for Palestine. Without taking names, he criticised Arab regimes that are “clients of the United States” for their lack of substantive action.
He said there was a need to differentiate the rulers from the common people, who he claimed are opposed to Israel’s “genocidal regime”.
Izadi sharply condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of not agreeing to a ceasefire and prolonging conflict in Gaza and Lebanon for his own political ends. “He is creating a regional war for his political survival,” he added.
Terming Israel a “settler colonial state”, Izadi suggested that people in countries like India, with a history of colonialism, should empathise with the suffering of Palestinians.
“They’re human beings and you cannot ignore the fact that you are witnessing a genocide. You don’t have to be a Muslim to oppose occupation, to oppose genocide,” he said.
He reiterated Iran’s determination to confront what he described as Israel’s “genocidal regime.”
“You cannot have an apartheid state in the 21st century. You cannot have a genocidal state in the 21st century. And Iran is not going to be the country that’s going to allow attacks on its soil,” Izadi signed off.