Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently the most popular person in Iran, a Tehran resident told KAN Reshet Bet on Wednesday.
"People have fallen in love with him. People do not trust America or [US President Donald] Trump, but they very much believe in and love Israelis," the Iranian, who was referred to by a pseudonym, said.
They also told KAN that Iranians were "impressed" by Israeli strikes on Iran in June, as part of Operation Rising Lion, as the air force "focused only on regime infrastructure and did not harm civilians."
However, Iranians are "mainly afraid" of American military intervention after seeing situations where Americans operated, including Afghanistan and Iraq. "Everywhere they went, they brought only destruction," he said.
The Iranian is an opponent of the Islamic Republic regime and has participated in demonstrations over the past 11 days. He is not Jewish, but recalled Hebrew words he had learned in Jewish community classes he had previously attended.
Tehran anti-regime protester: Authorities tear gassing activists is scaring them away from protests
The activist talked about the regime's violent repression measures against protesters. "They arrest many, who testify that they were sexually assaulted in prison. The [regime] forces use a lot of tear gas against demonstrators," he noted.
"I was affected by tear gas. I could not see or breathe properly for hours. Using tear gas has caused many people to stay away from the protests," he claimed.
One of the main reasons for the current protests in Iran is the severe economic crisis.
"We have no water. We have no electricity. We are one of the richest countries in the world, but our people are the poorest," he stated.
"The Iranian people ask the regime leadership why they divide the wealth among themselves, and help Hamas, Hezbollah, the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq, the Houthis, and Afghanistan, but when it comes to their own people, they say 'no, you can wait, you need to pay taxes,'" he said.
"There is very severe inflation. They lie and say inflation is at 30%, but it reaches 200% a year, and the regime is hiding this from the people," he accused.
"We are not allowed to celebrate and dance. We are a country of 90 million people who are all prisoners," he concluded.