By Adeola Tijani
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged U.S. protesters to refrain from unnecessary agitation as he addressed the U.S. Congress about the ongoing war with Hamas, renewing his call for bipartisan support in the Middle East.
“Iran is funding the anti-Israel protests that are going on right now outside this building—not that many, but they’re here, and throughout this city,” Netanyahu claimed to lawmakers. “I have a message for these protesters: When the tyrants of Tehran, who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair, are praising, promoting, and funding you, you have officially become Iran’s useful idiots,” Netanyahu said.
The U.S. intelligence community believes that Iran is trying to stoke division among Americans and has even gone so far as to provide financial support to some protests.
On July 9, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines warned Americans to remain vigilant and aware of the sources of financial support.
“We have observed actors tied to Iran’s government posing as activists online, seeking to encourage protests, and even providing financial support to protesters,” she wrote in a statement.
However, Israel has plenty of American critics without Iran’s meddling—a fact omitted by Netanyahu but acknowledged by the intelligence chief.
“I want to be clear that I know Americans who participate in protests are, in good faith, expressing their views on the conflict in Gaza—this intelligence does not indicate otherwise,” Haines wrote.
Polling by Gallup has found that American support for Israel’s military operations in Gaza has declined since October, as college campuses erupted in protests this spring over the large number of civilian deaths in Gaza. The conflict in Gaza began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
