Benjamin Netanyahu has discovered a new art form: threatening people who are already hiding. Read more: mojtaba khamenei plays Yesterday, during his first press conference since the start of this endless war, the Israeli Prime Minister declared that Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's new Supreme Leader, "can no longer show his face in public" — before adding a barely veiled threat to eliminate him.
Congratulations, Bibi. You've just invented the preemptive death threat against someone who already lives as a recluse. It's like declaring war on a hermit: technically possible, strategically absurd.
The Theater of Geopolitical Absurdity
Read more: starmer discovers namingLet's look at the facts according to France24 and the South China Morning Post: after "nearly two weeks of bombing" jointly with the United States, Netanyahu claims that "Iran is no longer the same." Really? Because from the outside, it mostly looks like Iran has swapped one invisible leader for another invisible leader. Revolutionary.
The beauty of this declaration is that it perfectly reveals Israel's current strategy: making noise to mask the absence of concrete results. Publicly threatening to assassinate the head of a sovereign state is exactly the kind of subtle diplomacy that has worked so well in the Middle East these past decades.
Let's compare with other powers. When China wants to pressure Taiwan, it sends planes into the identification zone. When the United States wants to intimidate Russia, they deploy economic sanctions. When France wants to annoy someone, they withdraw their ambassador with a haughty communiqué. And Israel? Israel makes death threats on TV like it's an episode of The Sopranos.
The Art of Threatening the Invisible
The most fascinating thing about this story is that Netanyahu is literally threatening a ghost. Mojtaba Khamenei is so discreet that we sometimes wonder if he really exists or if he's just a name on an Iranian org chart. Threatening him publicly is like challenging the invisible man to a duel: impressive in theory, ridiculous in practice.
This strategy reveals an uncomfortable truth about current Israeli politics: it has become entirely dependent on spectacle. Netanyahu no longer governs, he performs. Every statement is calculated for headlines, every threat for social media. The problem is that geopolitics isn't a talk show.
The Real Consequences of Media Circus
While Bibi does his act, the real consequences pile up. These "nearly two weeks of bombing" mentioned in the sources have cost billions, mobilized considerable resources, and for what result? A new Iranian Supreme Leader who hides even more than the previous one.
Canada, in its legendary wisdom, settles for "firmly condemning" and calling for "constructive dialogue" — which, translated from Canadian, means "we're watching the show while eating popcorn." The United States participates in the bombing while knowing perfectly well that publicly threatening to assassinate foreign leaders slightly complicates their diplomatic efforts elsewhere.
France, true to itself, has probably already prepared three different communiqués depending on how the situation evolves, each written with that linguistic precision that allows saying nothing while sounding profound.
Iran, Champion of Geopolitical Hide-and-Seek
Ironically, Iran's invisibility strategy works perfectly. By keeping its leaders hidden, Iran transforms every Israeli threat into a sword thrust in water. How do you intimidate someone you never see? How do you target someone who only exists on paper?
It's involuntary genius: while Netanyahu does theater, Iran practices the martial art of disappearance. Result: Israel looks like it's barking at shadows, which is never a good image for a regional military power.
The Real Problem
The crux of the problem is that this verbal escalation leads nowhere. Threatening to kill hidden leaders is the geopolitical equivalent of shouting into the void. It makes noise, it occupies the media, but it solves nothing.
Worse: it normalizes a level of rhetorical violence that makes any future negotiation even more difficult. How do you negotiate with someone who has publicly threatened to kill you? How do you trust an interlocutor who turns every press conference into a declaration of war?
Netanyahu may feel like he's showing strength, but he's mostly revealing his impotence. When you're reduced to threatening ghosts, it means you've exhausted your real options.
VERDICT: 2/10 for strategic effectiveness, 8/10 for spectacle. Netanyahu perfectly masters the art of making noise — too bad geopolitics isn't a decibel contest.