How Benjamin Netanyahu Became Iran’s National Hero: An Unexpected Love Story Between Jerusalem and Tehran
How do you say “Bibi King” in Farsi?
History is drunk on irony. It starts with expecting a U.S. president to locate Ukraine on a map and ends with the Middle East learning to smile. But no one bought tickets to the final act of this operetta: Benjamin Netanyahu—man, myth, megaton—crowned folk hero in the bazaars of Isfahan.
Yes, you read that right. As of June 2025, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister—the guy who built a three-decade career on “Iran, Iran, Iran”—is now the most adored face in Tehran’s underground Telegram channels. Street vendors hawk Bibi-Pomegranate candies. A punk band called Likud Underground drops Farsi covers of his campaign jingles. And yes, there’s a kiosk in Azadi Square officially renamed Bibi-Mart.
Absurd? Welcome to the Middle East—where the plot twists harder than a Persian rug.
The Strike That Flipped the Script
On the night of June 13, 2025, while most Israelis debated whether the siren was real or just reality-TV drama, the IDF executed surgical strikes on Iran’s deepest nuclear bunkers.
Global pundits braced for Armageddon.
Instead? A psychological revolution.
Within 48 hours, #MerciBibi trended on Telegram. By week’s end, protests erupted under banners reading: “If only we had our own Bibi.”
Exhausted by 46 years of theocracy, hyperinflation, and eggs costing more than a used Peugeot, ordinary Iranians didn’t see humiliation—they saw liberation by proxy. Like someone kicking down the door while you’re zip-tied to the chair.
The West Chokes on Irony; Tehran Throws a Party
While CNN ran split-screen confusion (“Israel bombs Iran—Iran celebrates?”), Tehran’s youth were already screen-printing T-shirts: “Bibi Did What Khamenei Couldn’t—Wake Us Up.”
Why Bibi? Simple: branding.
For years, Netanyahu has been Iran’s constant—like a sandstorm with a podcast. He said “Iran” more times than Iranians said “Persia.” When the sky finally cracked open, the credit defaulted to the only name they knew.
From Ahmadinejad to Reformists—Everyone’s a Likudnik Now
- Ex-reformists rebrand as “Liberal Likudniks.”
- Bazaar merchants confess they always admired Bibi’s oratory (but kept quiet to avoid the Basij).
- Esteghlal FC announces players will wear black armbands next home game: “Bibi—Our Persian Hope.” (Yes, in English. For the aesthetic.)
Likud HQ: “Franchise Opportunity?”
Back in Jerusalem, the party spins into overdrive. Advisors pitch a People’s Nobel Peace Prize from Iran. Others float “Likud Iran—International Branch.”
Yair Netanyahu tweets: “Proof we’ve always been with the Iranian people, not the ayatollahs. (Unlike the left here—still stanning the mullahs.)”
Veteran Likudniks enroll in Duolingo Farsi:
- “Faith in the Jewish State” = ایمان به کشور یهود
- “Schnitzel with love” = کتلت با عشق
What’s Next?
- A joint Israeli-Iranian Bibi Peace 2025 campaign against dictators?
- A Netanyahu Wax Museum in Tehran, finger eternally pointed at a chalkboard marked “NUCLEAR”?
- Exporting Bibi to Lebanon—they’re apparently taking pre-orders.
Unclear. But one thing is certain: in a region where everything is upside-down, turning your arch-nemesis into the people’s savior is peak Middle Eastern logic.
A Persian Smile with a Side of Satire
Today, alongside the ritual “Death to America,” you’ll occasionally hear: “Zindabad Bibi!” — Long live Bibi!
Not what Mossad storyboarded. Not what teenage Bibi dreamed of in Pittsburgh.
But this is our story: A military strike that became a spark of civilian hope. Humor, political madness, and grassroots longing blended like cardamom tea. Proof that in the place where everything burns, sometimes the flames warm the heart.
Only in the Middle East. Only with Bibi.
Intelligent is sexy. Enemies to lovers, nuclear edition. 💣❤️
הירשמו כדי לקבל את הפוסטים האחרונים אל המייל שלכם
