This just in: Iranians have been wearing blue jeans for decades

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israelis of all political stripes are well acquainted with a hapless quality displayed by their prime minister, who all too often mispeaks when he tries to be witty — or with it.

In an interview Thursday with BBC's Persian service, which aired over the weekend, Benjamin Netanyahu said:

"I think if the Iranian people had freedom, they would wear jeans, listen to Western music, and have free elections."

Um. Thing is, Iranians already wear jeans and listen to Western music. 

Young Iranians irritated at Netanyahu's presumption have launched an internet campaign intended to show the Israeli leader just how they wear their jeans. 

To many, it's more than a tongue-in-cheek matter. Some are referencing an Iranian nuclear scientist, who was allegedly assassinated by Mossad, Israel's spy agency, in 2011.

Many are asking, if Netanyahu can be so off about something so obvious, what else is he wrong about?

#Netanyahufail.

Tehran, Oct. 7, 2013. (Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images)

In Tel Aviv, at the New Orleans-inspired cafe NOLA, Tammy Livni, 28, a student clad in light blue skinny jeans, sighed and said:

"His staff should inform themselves before they give him talking points."

"I think its great that they're going after him for this!" said her companion, who preferred to remain nameless. She was clad in dark skinny jeans and sporting a brand-new sparkling engagement ring.

Tehran, Oct. 7, 2013. (Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images)

While visiting a friend who is studying in New York, Livni met three Iranian students last month.

"We all wore jeans and drank beer, and they talked about how they couldn't do that in Iran," she said.

Do what? "Drink beer."

"Netanyahu's just out of it. His intelligence about nukes may be good, but if he wants to understand anything about the lives of Iranians I recommend he see the movie "No One Knows About Persian Cats," said Yaron Federman, 47, who was sitting nearby and wearing beige denim shorts.

"It's about young underground rock musicians in Tehran. They all wear jeans."

Tehran, Oct. 7, 2013. (Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images)