Amid Iran Protests, Israel Envoy Says Iranians "Yearning For Freedom"

Israeli ambassador to India Reuven Azar has said the ongoing wave of protests across Iran reflects a deep and long-suppressed public anger against the country's clerical establishment, but cautioned that the powerful security apparatus of the Islamic Republic still makes any immediate political change uncertain. Speaking in an exclusive interview to NDTV's Senior Executive Editor Aditya Raj Kaul, the ambassador described the unrest as a significant and encouraging development, while underlining that the outcome will depend on how both the protesters and the regime respond in the coming weeks.

Azar said the demonstrations, which have continued for more than two weeks in multiple parts of Iran, show that large sections of Iranian society are "yearning for freedom" after decades of repression. While noting that the present movement may not yet have reached the scale of the 2009 Green Movement, he stressed that it is nevertheless a serious challenge to the authorities and a reflection of widespread frustration within the country.

"The Iranian people have been suffering so much under this repressive regime that has been not only oppressing them, but also killing them," the ambassador said.

He pointed to Iran's human rights record and claimed that nearly 2,000 executions had taken place in the past year alone, describing this as evidence of the system's brutality and intolerance of dissent. According to him, any genuine political change in Tehran would bring relief not only to Iranians but to the wider region as well.

However, Azar was careful not to predict a swift or inevitable regime change. He emphasised that the Islamic Republic still commands formidable coercive power through institutions such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Basij militia. "These forces are very powerful and very repressive," he said, adding that this makes the situation highly uncertain. He noted that an important question is whether the protesters are seeking limited reforms within the system or a complete transformation of the political order.

The ambassador said that different elements of Iranian society now appear to be participating in the unrest, including some groups that were previously seen as supportive of the establishment. Whether this represents a demand for course correction or a broader call for systemic change, he said, remains to be seen.

On the role of external actors, Azar made it clear that Israel is not seeking to interfere in Iran's internal political affairs. He said Israel's recent military actions against Iranian targets were driven by security considerations and the need to defend itself against what he described as Iranian aggression, not by any attempt to shape Iran's domestic politics. "We took action because we had to defend ourselves," he said.

At the same time, he welcomed public messages of support for Iranian protesters from the United States, particularly statements by former US President Donald Trump backing the demonstrators. Azar said such messages are important because they send a signal of international attention and moral support to those challenging the authorities, even though any real change must ultimately come from within Iranian society itself.

The ambassador also underlined that, irrespective of the internal unrest, Iran continues to pose a serious external security threat. He said that over the past two decades, Israel has foiled dozens of attempts by Iranian intelligence agencies and IRGC-linked networks to target Israeli diplomats and embassies around the world. In recent years, he added, Tehran has increasingly relied on criminal networks abroad to carry out such operations, citing the abduction of a Chabad Rabbi in the UAE as an example.

"We are following this very closely and cooperating with governments that might be affected by these terrorist and criminal actions of the Iranian regime," Azar said, indicating that Israel remains on high alert even as Iran is preoccupied with domestic unrest.

Asked whether Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei should be worried, the ambassador said it is too early to draw firm conclusions. He noted that the current protests involve a broader mix of social groups than before, which could be politically significant, but added that the regime's response and the protesters' ability to sustain momentum will be decisive.

For now, Azar said, the situation in Iran remains fluid. The world is watching to see whether the authorities will respond with concessions or with an even harsher crackdown, and whether the protest movement can overcome the weight of the state's security machinery. While he expressed hope for change, he also made it clear that the balance of power on the ground means the outcome is far from certain.