Israeli attacks have ‘backfired’ while fostering Iranian ‘unity’: Expert

Israel's strikes have hit not just Iran's nuclear facilities and missile factories but also key figures in the country's military chain of command and its nuclear scientists. Experts said, Israel apparently is aimed at diminishing Iran's credibility both at home and among its allies in the region - factors that could destabilise the Iranian leadership.

However, Hamid Gholamzadeh, director of Tehran's Diplo House think-tank, says Israeli attacks on Iranian energy and other sites have failed to create domestic unrest and instead united the population.

"[Netanyahu] has done a great favour for the Iranians… The outcome of the attacks has been significant unity among the Iranians," Gholamzadeh told Al Jazeera, emphasising the mood inside the country remains defiant.

"Everyone is saying it's not about the Islamic Republic, it's not about the government, it's not about the reformists… It's merely about Iran as a whole."

Iranians have experienced many challenges over the past five decades, Gholamzadeh noted.

"They experienced eight years of Saddam Hussein's war against Iran, and at that time the welfare of the people. The situation of the country was totally different from now. It was much weaker at that time. Now it is totally different."