Israel urges Iranians to topple 'Shi'ite supremacist empire'

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations urged the Iranian people to seize what he described as a historic opportunity to bring down the Islamic Republic and what he described as its "Shi'ite supremacist empire".

“People of Iran, do not miss this historic opportunity. Act now. The people of Israel stand with you,” Danny Danon, speaking in strained Persian, said during a Security Council meeting on Wednesday in remarks aimed at Iran's people.

His speech is part of Israel’s effort to spotlight the threat it says its arch-enemy the Islamic Republic poses to the Middle East and comes after Tehran's key Arab ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria was toppled this month by hardline Sunni insurgents.

“The opportunity to end Iran’s ambitions to create a Shi'ite supremacist empire is within reach,” framing the Islamic Republic as a sectarian menace to global stability.

His rhetoric closely aligns with that of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been ramping up his criticism of Iran in recent weeks. Netanyahu, who has long voiced concerns over Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its regional influence, framed the Islamic Republic as the head of a broader destabilizing axis.

“A year ago, I said we'd change the face of the Mideast, and we're indeed doing so. Syria is not the same Syria. Lebanon is not the same Lebanon. Gaza is not the same Gaza. And the head of the axis, Iran, is not the same Iran," Netanyahu said in a statement on Sunday. "It has also felt the might of our arms,” he added, underscoring Israel’s military role in reshaping the region.

At the same time Tehran faces mounting external pressure with historic setbacks to its armed allies in Lebanon and Syria, days-long nationwide shutdowns due to gas and electricity shortages underscore domestic woes.