The leaders of Iran and Israel made it clear that they were ready for an all-out war. They have been for some time.
But polling and protests before and after the recent attacks show that support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — and the conflict — within their countries is fading.
In August 2024, Netanyahu blamed Iran for helping Hamas attack Israel and said the two countries were already in a “multi-front war.”
“I reiterate and tell our enemies: We will respond and we will exact a heavy price for any act of aggression against us, from whatever quarter,” Netanyahu said.
Fast forward less than a year, and Israeli concerns about Iran’s nuclear program boiled over. Netanyahu lost patience for Iran to come to the table and make a deal with U.S. negotiators about its uranium enrichment and decided to act.
His defense minister called for Khamenei’s head.
“Without question, this man should not continue to exist,” Isaeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said. “A dictator like Khamenei, who heads a country like Iran and has made the destruction of the State of Israel his declared goal, this horrific goal of destroying Israel, cannot be allowed to continue or materialize.”
When asked about the comments, Netanyahu said words need to be “chosen carefully,” but “nobody is immune” to Israel’s attacks.
Khamenei has gone into hiding, but publicly spoke out a couple of times since Israel attacked, including after President Donald Trump called on him to surrender to Israel without conditions.
“War will be met with war, bombing with bombing, and strike with strike,” Khamenei said. “Iran will not submit to any demands or dictates.”
Trump authorized U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities last weekend. He has said the strikes set Iran’s nuclear programs back “decades.” He said the war between Iran and Israel was over and he no longer cares about a nuclear deal.
Still, there have only been preliminary intelligence assessments of the damage, so it’s unclear how decimated Iran’s nuclear program truly is.
Iran is showing no signs of wanting to negotiate a new nuclear deal, and flat out refused to sign onto any deal regulating its uranium enrichment. The U.S. and Israel flat out refused to let Iran further enrich any uranium that could be used to build a bomb.
That wasn’t always the case though; Iran agreed to such terms dismantling most of its nuclear program in exchange for relief from sanctions in 2015 in a deal negotiated by former President Barack Obama.
Two years later, Trump, in his first term, determined the deal gave Iran too much and accused the country of negotiating in bad faith. But there wasn’t evidence that Iran wasn’t in compliance before Trump pulled out of the deal. Soon after, though, Iran started reducing its compliance.
Israel said at least two dozen of its people were killed in the recent Iranian attacks; Iran doesn’t give regular death toll figures, but human rights groups estimated the death toll to be about 630 people from Israeli attacks.
Israelis’ feelings about striking Iran are mixed.
According to a poll by the Israel Democracy Institute, most Jewish Israelis (82%) supported taking action against Iran, but most Arab citizens (65%) opposed it. Yet, majorities of Jews (66%) and Arabs (89%) said they’re worried about the physical safety of themselves and their families with Iran’s developing nuclear program.
A Stasis Consulting poll from October 2024 found most Iranians (61%) wanted a nuclear agreement and believed Iran should negotiate with the west to resolve the dispute over nuclear activities.
Most Iranians (68%) said they want a good relationship with the U.S., but the sentiment is not the same for Israel. Just a quarter of Iranians wanted to normalize relations with Israel.
Another domestic poll from the Tehran International Studies and Research Institute, conducted in 2022, found roughly two-thirds of Iranians considered Israel to be a threat.
Trump sounded off about the leaders of Israel and Iran after violating a newly negotiated ceasefire, claiming they don’t know what they’re doing.
According to more polling and protests, their constituents might agree.
A survey released in March by the Israel Democracy Institute found a staggering 87% say they think Netanyahu should take responsibility for the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas. Nearly three-quarters want him to resign either now or after the war in Gaza resolves.
Israelis have consistently told pollsters they want Netanyahu out, even throughout all the twists and turns of the war. In March, Israel saw some of its biggest protests since the war in Gaza began, with tens of thousands of people marching to Netanyahu’s private residence in Jerusalem.
His administration has seen major protests over the past several years related to his foreign policy, judicial reforms and claims of corruption to stay in power. Having served more than 17 years, Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime minister in Israel’s history.
Khamenei has been Iran’s supreme leader for more than 35 years.
His Revolutionary Guard has crushed waves of protests over the years concerning the failure of the reform movement, alleged vote-rigging, the economy and the death of an Iranian woman in police custody for not wearing her mandatory headscarf properly.
More Iranians have disapproved of their country’s leadership than approved since 2018. The most recent Gallup poll on the matter last year found 52% of Iranians disapprove of Khamenei’s rule, versus 43% who approve.
Trump has thought about the idea of a regime change, saying if Iranians are unhappy with Khamenei, they could revolt. But he came back and said he wasn’t trying to suggest it, as such calls could be destabilizing for the country.
Some reports indicate Iranians support a regime change, but those reports cite Iranians fleeing the country. The U.S. and United Nations have determined that Iranians lack free elections, free speech, free press, free religion, free assembly, internet access and a fair legal system, so it’s hard to know for certain the degree of support or dissent for Khamenei.
Either way, tensions appear to have somewhat calmed between the two countries.
Israel says it did what it wanted to do by destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities and missiles, with U.S. support. Iran claims it ended the war with its retaliatory attacks.
According to Reuters, residents of both nations are relieved by the calming, but remain apprehensive about the future.
“People are relieved that the war has stopped, but there’s a lot of uncertainty about what comes next,” an Iranian told the news outlet.
Meanwhile, an Israeli resident said: “Those past two weeks were catastrophic in Israel, and we are very much exhausted, and we need to get back to our normal energy.”
Have a news tip? Contact Grayce McCormick at gamccormick@sbgtv.com. Content from The National Desk is provided by Sinclair, the parent company of FOX45 News.