It is also about sending a message to the population (no pun intended), about uniting them against a common enemy. Dictators want people to believe that their enemy is also the enemy of the people.
The idea that Israel is trying to help the Iranian people is a falsehood. Israel is bombing residential neighborhoods. This is cynicism on the part of the Israeli government, something we should be well aware of now as they are completing the final stages of the genocide in Gaza.
Israel wants nothing more than for Iran to be free of the IRGC.
Unlike Israel's Arab neighbors, Iran didn't attempt to destroy Israel (and kill all the Jews) in 1948. Before the IRGC took over, Iran and Israel had no problems.
The IRGC has made it clear that destroying Israel is one of their primary foreign policy objectives. They have said this, and it's why they funded Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.
Israel wants a regime change, that is clear. However it’s absurd to suggest the Israeli government has benevolent intentions toward the Iranian people considering that it is bombing people living in residential areas (never mind the Israeli defense minister’s comments that the Tehran residents will pay for Iran’s counterattack on Israel).
Don't get me wrong, Katz is a douchebag, but this was specifically a threat to retaliate in-kind of Iran continued to target arbitrary Israeli population centers.
I haven't seen any evidence of Israel targeting civilians (nuclear scientists aside), despite having complete air supremacy over Tehran. Air supremacy means Israel could carpet bomb the city if they wanted, but they don't want this. Not only would it be a horrible thing to do and of no military value, they simply don't blame the people of Iran for the IRGC's actions.
> Today, Iran is once again under heavy bombardment with Israeli air strikes targeting residential areas, civilian buildings, hospitals, media offices and military sites.
What Israel wants is a free hand in the region and to expel or exterminate Palestinians. How many civilians in Gaza were killed in the last week? The victim card is getting real old.
Fog of war is thick right now. There is plenty of reason for iran to overstate this (to e.g. try and get a rally around the flag affect to increase regime stability). [Otoh, plenty of reason for Israel to understate. Truth is the first casualty of war]
We'll probably have to wait for the dust to settle before we have a good idea what was or wasn't bombed.
International news organizations reporting on this conflict incorporate accounts of residents and human rights organizations. It’s simply not true that the Iranian and Israeli governments are our only source of facts on this matter, or that the reports of attacks on residential areas are the result of “fog of war”.
Would they necessarily know either? There is a lot of confusion during war, especially during the opening stages.
And to be clear, im not saying this because its iran. I also would be cautious of e.g. initial reports during ukraine vs russia. It simply takes time for people to pick up the pieces and figure out what actually happened.
There are numerous reports from a variety of credible sources of attacks on residential targets. Your argument, as far as I can tell, is a vague armchair hunch.