Gallant’s Letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader: Projection of Power or Admission of Strategic Anxiety?
- Resistance Is Deeply Rooted: The idea of resistance in the Middle East arises organically from decades of injustice and occupation, not as a project orchestrated by Iran. Iran’s support is political and ideological.
- Israel’s Crisis Is Internal and External: Israel is amid profound domestic unrest, political instability, and mounting international scrutiny and loss of legitimacy.
- Strategic Losses for Israel: Missile threats, economic stress, ongoing casualties, and eroding public confidence highlight real vulnerabilities, while Iran remains focused on recovery and resilience.
- Iran’s Nuclear Policy Remains Consistent: Iran maintains its religious and moral rejection of nuclear weapons with a peaceful program under international supervision, regardless of outside pressure.
- Gallant’s Letter Signals Strategic Anxiety: The message reveals Israel’s mounting fears and frustration rather than affecting meaningful change, ignoring the independent roots of regional resistance.
- Summary: Rather than intimidation, Gallant’s warnings underscore a regional balance in flux and Israel’s growing sense of isolation and uncertainty about the future.
This week, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant made headlines after publishing a direct and sharply worded letter addressed to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The letter, steeped in defiant rhetoric and strategic posturing, urged Iran to “cease its war against Israel” and abandon its regional influence and nuclear ambitions. Gallant claimed Israel had successfully dismantled what he called Iran’s “ring of fire” — an axis of resistance stretching from Gaza to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen — and warned Tehran against continuing its current path.
But beyond the dramatic language and sweeping claims, Gallant’s message reveals more about Israel’s deepening regional and internal predicaments than it does about Iranian policy. A sober and historically informed response — based on the positions repeatedly articulated by Iran’s Supreme Leader — sheds light on the realities that Gallant’s letter appears to ignore or deliberately obscure.
A Grounded Response to Gallant’s Claims
1. Resistance Is Not an Iranian Invention — It Is a Regional Reality
Gallant portrays Iran as the architect of every act of resistance in the region. Yet history tells a different story. Popular anger and opposition to Israel’s policies of occupation, displacement, and military aggression long predate the Islamic Republic. Iran’s support for resistance movements is political and ideological — not managerial or directive. As Ayatollah Khamenei has repeatedly emphasized, “Resistance is the choice of the people themselves — not a dictate from Iran.”
The roots of regional hostility toward Israel are found not in Tehran, but in decades of injustice: land confiscations, civilian massacres, imprisonment of minors, house demolitions, and repeated wars against neighboring countries. The Israeli narrative that blames Iran for this accumulated anger only serves to deny responsibility for policies that have fueled resentment across generations.
2. Israel’s Conflict Is with the People — Not Just Their Governments
Gallant mentions Israeli strikes on Syria as part of its struggle against Iranian influence. However, Israel has attacked Syria under both friendly and hostile governments — from Bashar al-Assad, a known ally of Tehran, to Ahmed Shar’a, a figure from Syria’s post-Assad leadership hostile to Iran. This underscores a deeper truth: Israel’s conflict is not primarily with Iranian policy, but with any regional actor — regardless of allegiance — that refuses to accept Israeli military and political dominance.
3. Israel Is Facing Unprecedented Internal and International Crisis
Israel today is undergoing a crisis of legitimacy both at home and abroad. Domestically, the government is facing mass protests, political instability, and growing public dissatisfaction — not least over Prime Minister Netanyahu’s attempts to use ongoing wars as a political shield from corruption charges.
Internationally, Israel’s leadership is under investigation for alleged war crimes in Gaza, with global public opinion turning sharply against Tel Aviv. Gallant’s attempt to claim “strategic victory” amid such circumstances appears increasingly detached from reality.
As Ayatollah Khamenei noted in a recent speech,
“The Zionist regime is not collapsing due to external attacks — it is eroding from within, under the weight of its own contradictions.”
4. Strategic Losses Are Greater in Tel Aviv than in Tehran
Despite Gallant’s claims of Israeli successes, the data tells another story. Israel is now frequently forced to shut down its airports and ports due to the threat of missile attacks. Its soldiers continue to suffer casualties. Major urban centers are subject to air raid sirens and rocket barrages. Its economy is under stress, and global investors are increasingly wary.
Meanwhile, Iran has emerged from a year of regional escalation focused on rebuilding, stabilizing its economy, and enhancing its defense capabilities — all while maintaining its political independence. The Islamic Republic, though under immense pressure, has not wavered in its strategic trajectory.
5. Iran’s Nuclear Policy Remains Clear and Consistent
Gallant’s assertion that Israel has delayed Iran’s nuclear ambitions fails to acknowledge that Iran has repeatedly declared its rejection of nuclear weapons on both moral and religious grounds.
Ayatollah Khamenei has unequivocally stated:
“Producing and using nuclear weapons is forbidden in Islam. Our program is peaceful — not out of fear, but because of our principles.”
Iran’s nuclear progress continues in line with international safeguards and oversight, despite sabotage attempts and economic pressure. The notion that Tehran’s choices are driven by Israeli threats misunderstands the nature of Iran’s decision-making — which is centered on sovereignty and resilience, not fear.
Conclusion: Gallant’s Letter Reflects Israel’s Strategic Disorientation
Rather than a display of strength, Gallant’s letter signals an attempt to reframe failure as success — to blame Iran for what is fundamentally a regional rejection of Israeli policies. The idea that Iran can simply “turn off” resistance in Gaza, Lebanon, or Yemen ignores the fact that these are independent movements rooted in local realities, not foreign puppets.
Israel is now increasingly isolated, facing legal accountability, popular resistance, and growing doubts among its own population. Its wars no longer yield deterrence — only deeper entanglement. Iran, for its part, has shown strategic patience, continuity, and a commitment to the political agency of the region’s peoples.
In this light, Gallant’s threats do not intimidate. They illuminate.
They reveal a regional power that sees the balance shifting — and fears what comes next.