Tel Aviv: In a cryptic message that has set off intense speculation across the Middle East, Israeli Opposition leader Yair Lapid has urged the Iranian regime to “pay close attention to what is happening in Venezuela”, hours after US forces captured President Nicolás Maduro in a dramatic military operation.
Lapid, a former prime minister, posted the warning on X, implying that the swift downfall of Maduro could serve as a precedent for Tehran. The statement comes as Iran grapples with its own turmoil: anti-government protests, now in their seventh day, have swept cities like Tehran, Mashhad, and Qom, triggered by crippling inflation, unemployment, and discontent with clerical rule. Human rights groups report at least eight deaths, with protesters boldly chanting against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The US strikes on Venezuela, which saw Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores seized and flown out of the country, have been hailed by some in Israel and condemned globally as a violation of sovereignty. Allies like Iran and Russia have decried the action, and Lapid’s remark is seen as a veiled threat, signalling potential US-Israeli coordination against shared adversaries.
With President Donald Trump back in power and prior warnings to Iran over protester crackdowns, analysts wonder if Lapid’s words foreshadow bolder moves. As protests rage in Iran and the world digests Venezuela’s shock, the question looms: Could Tehran face a similar fate?