Iran cleric Khatami says Israel must be eliminated for peace

The warning came from the intelligence organization of the Revolutionary Guards, which said street unrest would be treated as a precursor to military action. “Those we call the ‘Neo-ISIS elements’ should know that a blow even harsher than that of January 8 awaits them,” the statement said.

More than 36,500 Iranians were killed by security forces during a two-day crackdown on nationwide protests on January 8–9. Iran International confirmed the death toll after examining obtained classified documents along with field reports and accounts from medical staff, witnesses, and victims’ families.

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  Over 36,500 killed in Iran's deadliest massacre, documents reveal

In its statement, the Guards accused foreign adversaries of trying to stir unrest inside Iran after failing to achieve their goals on the battlefield. It said enemies were now attempting to “spread fear and provoke street protests.”

The warning came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s military campaign was intended in part to create conditions that could allow Iranians to protest against the Islamic Republic.

“We will create optimal conditions to do this, including airstrikes as we did yesterday, as we are doing these days, to try to give them the space needed to take to the streets,” Netanyahu said at a press conference on Thursday.

He said Israeli strikes were delivering “crushing blows” to the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij, the paramilitary force often deployed against protesters, but added that any effort to bring down the Islamic Republic would ultimately depend on action from within Iran.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) intelligence organization warned on Thursday that opponents could face “a blow even stronger than January 8,” effectively acknowledging the violent suppression of the January protests and threatening harsher action if street unrest returns.

"Those we call the ‘Neo-ISIS elements’ should know that a blow even harsher than that of January 8 awaits them,” reads the statement.

President Donald Trump said the US is "totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran, militarily economically, and otherwise" in a post on Truth Social on Friday.

"We are totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran, militarily economically, and otherwise, yet, if you read the Failing New York Times, you would incorrectly think that we are not winning. Iran’s Navy is gone, their Air Force is no longer, missiles, drones and everything else are being decimated, and their leaders have been wiped from the face of the earth," Trump said.

"We have unparalleled firepower, unlimited ammunition, and plenty of time - Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today. They’ve been killing innocent people all over the world for 47 years, and now I, as the 47th President of the United States of America, am killing them. What a great honor it is to do so!" he added.

Speaker Mike Johnson said the United States carried out defensive, limited operations in response to an imminent threat from Iran, emphasizing that the missions were not part of a broader intervention or nation-building effort.

“We are not in the nation building business. We are not interventionalist. We are not out trying to be the world's policeman… No one in our party believes that, even the people that they call Neo-cons are coming back to reality because of our financial situation," Johnson said in an interview with Michael Knowles of Daily Wire.

“The Iran situation was real. I’m in the Gang of Eight. I got all the classified briefings… The Intel said we were of an imminent danger of an attack on our personnel, our service members, our civilians, our installations in that region… Iran was going to have a barrage of missiles. This is all the unclassified part. Now it’s all been reported," he added.

“Israel was going to act unilaterally. It’s their right as a nation to do it… And we had to act first to prevent mass casualties on our side. The Commander in Chief had a tough decision. It’s not a declaration of war, it’s defensive, limited mission. I think that mission is getting accomplished, and the world’s gonna be better off because of it," Speaker Johnson said.

“They were producing new ballistic missiles in Iran at a rate of about 700 a month, far outpacing what our regional allies could keep up with. And, of course, they were pursuing their nuclear ambitions again," he added.

Officials in Tehran say the sums are meant to “buy” unity among Lebanon’s Shiite leadership to ensure that they “act in accordance with Iran’s interests, not Lebanon’s interests.”

Nabih Berri did not respond to Iran International’s request for comment. One of his advisers said that Berri would not comment on the matter at this time.

Berri has not publicly opposed Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel in support of Iran, the sources said, because he does not want to risk losing his financial resources.

The 88-year-old politician heads Lebanon's Amal Movement and holds significant sway in Lebanon’s domestic and foreign policy.

The Shiite organization, formed in the 1970s, remains one of the country’s main political actors. It maintains close political ties with Hezbollah, and both belong to Lebanon’s Shiite political camp.

On March 1, Hezbollah targeted Israel in support of Tehran. Israel launched a new military operation in retaliation.

The sources said Berri has been unwilling to support efforts by the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah because, in exchange for receiving large sums from Tehran, he must “advance measures in the Lebanese parliament that align with Tehran’s interests.”

In recent months, Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam have tried to pressure Hezbollah to disarm in order to reduce tensions with Israel and the international community.

Army forces have confiscated Hezbollah weapons in parts of southern Lebanon, but senior Lebanese officials have said that fully implementing the plan could trigger internal tensions, as Hezbollah has refused to hand over its entire arsenal.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem and officials of the Islamic Republic have repeatedly opposed disarming the group.

Following Hezbollah’s attack on Israel, the Lebanese government announced that the group's military activities would be banned.

On March 6, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned the Lebanese government that if it remains unable to fulfill its commitments regarding Hezbollah’s disarmament, Lebanon will “pay a very heavy price.”

Tehran considers Hezbollah one of the main pillars of the so-called Axis of Resistance—a term used by Iranian officials to refer to allied armed groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, and the Houthis in Yemen.

The Wall Street Journal reported in November 2025 that Tehran transferred hundreds of millions of dollars in oil revenue to Hezbollah in the preceding year through exchange offices, private companies and a financing network in Dubai.

Israel’s Kan network reported in December 2025 that Tehran had agreed to pay $1 billion to Hezbollah.

Neither report can be independently verified by Iran International.

The office of the Speaker of Lebanon’s Parliament, in a statement issued after the article was published, called the claim "false and baseless."