TEHRAN - Like the 12-day war against Iran last June, the joint U.S.-Israel war against Iran has strengthened unity among the Iranians.

The aggressors suffered from the illusion that Iranians will rise against the ruling system by capitalizing on the protests in early January. 

As the 12-day war mobilized people with different and even opposing political views around the national flag, this time the Iranians are filled with greater angry against the Zionist regime and the U.S.

When the people are noticing that passersby are being torn apart in the streets by Israeli and U.S. airstrikes, they are becoming more united and show more disgust of the invaders.

The people’s blood is boiling as they noticed that about 80 Navy personnel were drowned by an American submarine near the waters of Sri Lanka. These innocent Navy personnel had participated in a joint drill with countries bordering the Indian Ocean. The had participated in the joint drill without knowing that the U.S. and Israel were going to attack Iran.

People are also feeling great pity for police forces killed when their headquarters are being bombarded.  Some of these police forces, whose bodies are being mutilated, are young conscripts serving their mandatory military service.

The photos captured on the bombardments are really annoying. Vedios posted on social media by ordinary people are showing people lying dead on the streets or inside their cars. The victims were passing the streets. 

Also, many families, especially those with small children and old mothers or fathers, have left the cities, especially the metropolis of Tehran, and taken shelter in substandard places to probably remain safe from airstrikes, and this has angered them and other people.

Add to these indiscriminate killings the massacre of about 170 schoolgirls in the southern city of Minab on the first day of this vicious war, that is a concrete example of war crime.

The anger against the Israeli and U.S. war on Iran has intensified as Iranians are going to celebrate their ancient New Year Holidays, known as Nowruz. 

Every year, weeks before Nowruz, the markets are incredibly frequented by shoppers. However, with the arrival of Nowruz some people are regrettably mourning the death of family members killed in the airstrikes. Also, nobody is thinking of Nowruz gifts for children. 

There is no day since February 28 that people don’t chant slogans against Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a person wanted for crimes and crimes against humanity for the horrific acts his army committed in Gaza. In their slogans, they are calling the U.S. a “child killing” regime, like Israel.

Given the January protests that mostly originated from price rises and the depreciation of national currency, the warmongers in Israel and the U.S. imagined that the people will pour into the streets and hold protests against the government with the first drop of bombs on the cities. Contrary to their illusions, the opposite has happened. 

Most people in Iran, both educated and uneducated, rightly believe that Israel and the United States are seeking their own particular interests. They say Israel is seeking a disintegration of Iran. Their reading of the Zionist regime’s ill intention has made people more cautious and united. One of the main slogans in the funerals for martyrs of the airstrikes is “Unity, Unity”.

It is true that some Iranian diaspora in certain Western European countries, the United States, and Canada treasonously begged the Trump administration for military intervention following the January unrest, the absolute majority of the people believe that their dispute with the ruling system is like a family fight and has nothing to do with foreigners.

Surprisingly, common people say Israel is unhappy with a great and powerful country like Iran in the West Asia region. They say Israel wants small and weak countries in the region. With their own simple language, they say Israel wants to be the “kadkhoda” of the region.  (Kadkhoda in Persian language means the head of a village). What political scholars name hegemon, ordinary people call kadkhodah.

They also say the U.S. is caring about its colonial interests and spheres of influence. The people are saying that Trump is openly saying that the post-Maduro Venezuela has given the U.S. millions of barrels of oil.

In addition, they say since the Trump administration is in fierce competition with China, it is unhappy with Iran’s business dealings with China and wants to monopolize the Iranian market for itself. They also say Trump, who has a transactional view of foreign policy, wants the Iranian oil and gas. 

People say when Trump has a covetous eye on Canada and Greenland to the surprise of its allies, it is natural that he has greedy eye on Iran.

Israel and the United States had serious miscalculations about Iran with a rich culture and ancient civilization. They don’t know that Iran has emerged victorious in every struggle with foreigners in the course of history. For example, though Iranians were under the influence of Arab colonizers from 7th century to the 10th century, what is known as the “Arab conquest”, they protected their Persian language and ancient culture and civilization. 

Given the current facts on the ground and historical backgrounds, it is impossible to subdue Iranians despite all grievances about economic hardships which are the result of the economic terrorism against the country with the leadership of the United States. It was a naivety to think that the patriotic Iranians would rebel against their government.  

They showed their patriotism during Iraq’s invasion of Iran in the 1980s. Though in the early months of the 1979 revolution in Iran there were serious and bitter competition over the kind of governance, the groups set aside their differences and mobilized against the enemy. The current rulers of Israel and the U.S. should read about that war against Iran on those days. Like Netanyahu and Trump, Saddam Hussein was filled with great vanity and made a sudden and unprovoked war on Iran in Sept. 1980 to capture the oil rich province of Khuzestan in southwest Iran. He went to the extent to call the Khuzestan of Iran “Arabestan” and captured parts of the province. However, it did not last long that Iraq’s Saddam Hussein started begging for a ceasefire.

Saddam also suffered from the illusion that the minority Arab population in Khuzestan will welcome the invading army. But, both the Arab and non-Arab youth in Khuzestan launched a guerrilla warfare against the invading army.

Now, it seems that the history is being repeated. The delusional Israeli and American officials thought those who protested in the streets against the government in January will pour into the streets enthusiastically and even some of those who had not participated in the protests will join them this time.

However, their war against Iran has backfired. It has solidified the nation strongly. Political and  economic experts as well as sociologists who were critical of the country’s economic and foreign policies are now talking about the need to capitalize on this unity and make the foes disappointed.