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A bus bearing a campaign poster featuring Israeli Prime Minister and Likud party chairman Benjamin Netanyahu alongside US President Donald Trump drives through Jerusalem on October 26, 2026, on the eve of Israel\u2019s legislative elections [Ahmad Gharabli\/AFP]<\/p>\n
Iranian authorities have described pro-Israeli Iranians as \u201chomeland sellers\u201d and continue to severely punish<\/a> any perceived cooperation with Israel based on national security charges.<\/p>\n They also fully blame the US and Israel for Iran\u2019s nationwide protests in January, during which thousands of civilians are believed to have been killed. The United Nations says Iranian security forces committed crimes against humanity while cracking down on the protests.<\/p>\n Shayan, a 32-year-old Tehran resident, said he believes that any Iranians who might have hoped for the overthrow of the government at the start of the war are disillusioned after witnessing US and Israeli conduct since then, with thousands of civilians killed and the US blockade and sanctions hitting most people\u2019s incomes.<\/p>\n \u201cI think some people\u2019s viewpoints adjusted after some of the comments from the US and Israel, and after they bombed infrastructure that we need to live, like oil and gas, power and steel,\u201d he told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n \u201cI think most Iranians don\u2019t have a choice in the matter, but want some stability and peace.\u201d<\/p>\n President Trump has threatened to bring about the \u201cdeath of a civilisation\u201d in Iran and suggested the country\u2019s map may look different after the war.<\/p>\n He has also repeatedly threatened to launch more major strikes against Iran\u2019s power plants, bridges and other civilian infrastructure if hostilities resume. US media report that the country\u2019s military is prepared to attack over the coming days if an order is given.<\/p>\n The other option Trump has threatened is prolonging a naval blockade of Iran\u2019s southern ports<\/a> in place since July, which has stopped the country\u2019s oil exports and significantly disrupted trade. Together with some of the most stringent sanctions imposed against any country, the US measures have made Iranians poorer and\u00a0more isolated from the international community.<\/p>\n The Netanyahu government has also threatened to strike Iranian infrastructure again, including energy facilities. Defence Minister Israel Katz has repeatedly said in recent months that he wants to send Iran \u201cback into the Stone Age\u201d.<\/p>\n His election opponents and other prominent opposition figures, including Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid and Yair Golan, have all cheered the US-Israeli attacks on Iran both during the current war and during last year\u2019s 12-day war.<\/p>\n They have also been united in wanting to remove Iran\u2019s enriched uranium stockpiles from Iran and dismantle the country\u2019s nuclear programme. Another goal is eliminating the Tehran-backed \u201caxis of resistance\u201d<\/a> of armed forces who oppose Israel and the US across the region.<\/p>\n Israeli politicians, both the government and opposition, are generally united on the war aims of overthrowing the Iranian establishment, but differ on the method.<\/p>\n Eisenkot, for instance, has supported Netanyahu\u2019s military strikes against Iran and praised Trump\u2019s decision to launch attacks as courageous. But he also says that military operations cannot realistically overthrow the Islamic Republic, and that change must come from Iranians themselves.<\/p>\n Some Iranians have been mentally preparing themselves for conflict when the elections end.<\/p>\n Some Iranians said they have established groups with friends living in different parts of the country to warn each other of imminent strikes if they hear fighter jets flying overhead.<\/p>\n