What did Netanyahu aim to achieve with Iran-bashing in US Congress speech?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to the US Congress on July 24 has become the subject of intense scrutiny and has been condemned globally as a dark stain on the history of democracy,

Central to these debates was Netanyahu's attempt to obfuscate his country's mass atrocities, even though Israel's attacks have resulted in the death of more than 39,000 Palestinians and injuries to over 90,000 others in the besieged enclave of Gaza since October 7.

Particularly troubling was Netanyahu's blatant falsehoods, including the claim that not a single civilian was killed, despite the death of at least 16,000 children and more than 10,000 women in the indiscriminate bombardments, which have provoked widespread condemnation.

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, one of the most strident supporters of the Palestinian cause, minced no words when he described Netanyahu as the “Hitler of our time” to condemn US lawmakers’ applause of the Israeli leader.

Netanyahu's speech was notable for emphasising Iran and efforts to sway the American public. Additionally, it is significant that 23 Democratic senators and 73 Democratic members of the House of Representatives boycotted the speech in protest against Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.

Why did Netanyahu place such a strong emphasis on Iran, and how should the boycott by some senators be interpreted?

Emphasis on Iran

In his speech, Netanyahu mentioned Iran by name 23 times, asserting that “Iran is funding and promoting anti-Israel protests in America”, “In the Middle East, Iran is virtually behind all the terrorism”, “Iran has maniacal plans to impose radical Islam on the world”, “Iran's main war, the real war, is with America”, and “Iran's regime has been fighting America from the moment it came to power”.

Upon closer examination of Netanyahu's claims about Iran, it can be argued that there is significant exaggeration and an effort to shape perception. For all of Tehrans’s rhetoric and sabre-rattling, the fact remains that Iran is significantly weaker than the US in economic and military prowess.

Iran lacks the material, military, and propaganda power to be a formidable adversary to the US. As demonstrated by the US invasion of Iraq, Iran could be forced to develop strategic partnerships with Washington if its own survival is at stake.

Therefore, Netanyahu's statement that Iran is the biggest enemy of the US and that Americans should be concerned about it lacks a logical basis. For all practical purposes, Netahanyu was merely putting on a performance in the US Congress.

The primary objective of this hyperbolic portrayal of Iran as an existential threat was to intensify hatred and anger towards the Shia-majority nation among the American public and thus lay the groundwork for potentially escalating the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict into a wider US-Iran war.

For Netanyahu, amplifying the Iranian threat within the US also serves to legitimise American military aid to Israel, which purports to be at war with Iran, and overshadow the protests over civilian killings in Gaza.

Netanyahu’s puerile attempt to gain sympathy is nothing but a mockery of the American public's intelligence, as it is a well-documented fact that Iran has not posed a serious threat to the US except for the initial years following the 1979 Revolution.

Visit marred by protests

Netanyahu's visit triggered a flurry of protests in the US, with thousands of people from all walks of life condemning Israel’s war on Gaza and the indiscriminate killing of civilians.

Ahead of the speech, a series of protests erupted within the US Capitol building. These protests, including a sit-in, led to the arrest of numerous demonstrators.

The backlash against Netanyahu's visit did not end there, as Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, who is Jewish, stated on MSNBC that he would not attend Netanyahu's speech, saying, “I consider him a war criminal. He should not have been invited to Congress."

According to reports from American media outlets and video recordings of the speech, 23 Democratic senators and 73 Democratic members of the House of Representatives boycotted the speech.

The most notable protest during the speech was the sign held by Rashida Tlaib, the sole member of Congress of Palestinian descent, who displayed her dissent by holding up a sign that read "war criminal" while Netanyahu spoke.

While some, like Bernie Sanders, may have been sincere in their protest, it can be argued that others abstained from the session merely to evade responsibility. This responsibility could have involved attending the session and directly confronting Netanyahu, as Tlaib did.

Over the years, the US Congress has witnessed numerous speeches by foreign dignitaries. Some of these speeches have been historically significant, and similarly, some reactions to these speeches, like Rashida Tlaib's, have also been noteworthy.

Therefore, had the 96 Democratic members chosen to attend and react as Rashida Tlaib did, she would not have stood alone.