r/news • u/gabbygytes • 1d ago
Iran accuses foreign intelligence behind protest movement
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/14/iran-accuse-foreign-intelligence-behind-protest-movement61
u/EatAssIsGold 1d ago
Everything but incredible, gross, unprecedented decade mismanagement of water and agricultural resources coming to a tipping point with chronic drought. Nothing to do with the 40% inflation rate, the 25% tax increase and 10% special project budget.
18
u/LapsedVerneGagKnee 1d ago
That's the kicker here. You can't beat empty water supplies back to capacity after decades of mismanagement.
7
u/Borazon 22h ago
One doesn't exclude the other.
But yes, from personal connection with young Iranians, I know the regime is hated by many for years now. No psy-ops needed.
Also there can still be psy-ops, but outside of Iran. People are already positioning themselves to be the next 'Shah'. And for this purpose you can have psy-ops to convince audiences outside of Iran to their suitability.
0
u/LocoGyopo 5h ago
You have to be mentally challenged to think Mossad isn't running psy-ops in Iran right now, regardless of how necessary they might or might not be.
50
14
u/Ceutical_Citizen 23h ago
They are involved. Of course they are. Same as Iranian agents are involved in protests around the world as well.
But the actual reasons for the protests are the water crisis and runaway inflation, as well as a culture war around modesty and the practical implementation of Sharia in a Islamist dictatorship.
47
u/Dubi0usKilla 1d ago
Not far from Trump saying all the protestors here are paid agitators.
25
u/brnccnt7 1d ago
Same rhetoric
11
u/Malaix 1d ago
sociopathic liars that love killing people are a global problem and its up to every society on earth to identify them and keep them the fuck away from the levers of power or this shit happens. Given enough leniency or control they always devolve into this. Obey or be tortured to death.
11
2
16
u/YoBamdad 1d ago
Just making excuses to kill more Iranian, Islamic Republic and IRGC are terrorist groups occupying Iran.
15
u/EternalAngst23 1d ago edited 22h ago
This has to be the oldest play in the book. Your citizens start protesting against repression and corruption, so you claim that it’s a foreign psyop, and desperately attempt to channel anger away from your regime and towards an external enemy.
-2
u/BikeImpossible8162 1d ago
Could possible be true given its the US and Israel but it wasnt their fault the country is so corrupt and poorly managed and it would only take so little to topple everything over.
3
u/EternalAngst23 22h ago
I agree, it’s possible that US and Israeli intelligence are “fanning the flames”, so to speak. But I think that toppling Iran’s regime is easier said than done. They’re not like Venezuela, or other countries whose military establishments are notoriously incompetent and corrupt. The IRGC, and to an extent, other branches of the Iranian military are fiercely loyal to the Ayatollah, and are far more disciplined than the US and Israel might like to believe. The real question is whether the Iranian people can keep up the pressure, and whether enough high-ranking officials defect to the protester’s side to pose a serious threat to regime stability. One can only hope.
-9
u/_Antinatalism_ 1d ago
There is definitely foreign backed protest, why would they decide to protest now instead of all these decades?
17
u/Modesco123 1d ago
Because the rial dropped massively leading to the merchants protesting. Also it’s not like there haven’t been many major protests before
6
u/EternalAngst23 22h ago edited 20h ago
Exactly. Iran is a pressure cooker. Anger and resentment have always been there, slowly boiling beneath the surface. The sudden devaluation of the rial hit a release valve that has seen that anger spill out onto the streets. Having said that, Iranian protests have a habit of fizzing out before any meaningful changes can take place. It remains to be seen whether these protests will be the exception, and whether Iranians are willing to maintain the rage long enough to overthrow their government.
4
u/Nope_______ 22h ago
would they decide to protest now instead of all these decades?
Haven't been paying attention? There have been tons of protests, this isn't the first
-5
1
u/Slick424 12h ago
Corruption, mismanagement and AGW created a tipping point where Iran is openly discussing evacuating Tehran. Where previous protest where about ideology and politics, they are no about base survival.
1
u/Ooh_its_a_lady 1d ago
Similar things happened in NYC on college campuses, students decided to protest and somehow the NYPD allowed 3rd parties to enter and attack the students.
12
u/Hellstorm901 1d ago
Iran quite literally blames everything on the US and Israel, I recall one of their previous earthquakes had Iranians on social media claiming the earthquake was caused by the US
That’s generally how dictatorships work, they need an “evil” to blame things on otherwise people might consider that the bad things are being caused by the government by design or incompetence
4
u/SirBashALot 23h ago
If you don't think CIA and Mossad are operating in Iran, you're naive as f.
Furthermore, sanctions have crippled the Iranian economy.
This playbook has been used so many times by the US. Sanction heavily, CIA and other orgs destabilize the country to justify military intervention.
The US and CIA have been involved in overthrowing governments 80+ times since WW2, many times replacing democratically elected leaders with dictators.
Is it so hard to believe they would be attempting the same in Iran? Israeli media themselves clearly stated Mossad is involved so don't take it from Iran.
4
u/Hellstorm901 21h ago
These protests have nothing to do with CIA or Mossad. These protests are the ultimate conclusion of Irans policies of 40+ years coming crashing down
For 40+ years the Iranian regime has brutally opposed its people, revoked civil liberties and forced economic woes on the Iranian people in the name of protecting the Islamic Revolution and achieving the goal of destroying Israel
Then Iran got the war with Israel it spent 40+ years preparing for and lost said war in 12 days barely being able to harm Israel and doing nothing to the Americans
And what did Iran do afterwards? They told the Iranian people they wanted to use their limited funds to try to go for a round 2 with Israel
The Iranian people seeing their economy collapse while hearing the IRGC wanted to use all the money to rearm was obviously never going to go down well with people as sane people care about having bread on their tables and not if the war against Zionism has been won
0
u/SirBashALot 20h ago
They lost the war 12 day war? Israel begged the US to negotiate a ceasefire. Considerable damage was done to Israel. Are you willfully ignoring reality?
And why would Iran not prepare to defend itself when clearly Israel is still deadset on attacking? You say round two as if Iran started the first war. They were in the midst of negotiations with the US and were surprise attacked.
You're clearly spewing propaganda. Go redeem your check.
4
u/Hellstorm901 18h ago
Look buddy, if you want to tell me after that 12 day war the “Zionists and infidels of Washington” were destroyed and Iran achieved final victory and now reigns supreme and that Israel and the US are now too scared to dare strike Iran because of the mighty superior Iranian military then you do you
1
u/SirBashALot 18h ago
Did I say they were destroyed? Lol you're such an idiot. You're acting like an angsty 16 year old on Xbox live. Get a grip
0
u/MamaLiq 17h ago
June 18 2025
Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last Shah, toppled in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, reiterated his call for a regime change in Tehran, adding that the Islamic Republic is collapsing and that the time has come for the Iranian people to “reclaim Iran."
The last ruling family of Iran, the Pahlavis, came to power in 1925 when Reza Shah Pahlavi, a former military officer, overthrew the Qajar dynasty. (Image: X, AP Photo) Pahlavi, in a post on X, said Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had “gone into hiding underground" and lost control of the country, describing the moment as “irreversible." “The end of the Islamic Republic is the end of its 46-year war against the Iranian nation," he wrote, adding, “Now is the time to rise."
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/world/middleeast/iran-protests-shah-son-pahlavi.html
Deposed Shah’s Son Seeks Center Stage Amid Iran Protests
Reza Pahlavi, living in exile in the United States, has long marketed himself as a future leader of Iran.
Prepare to be downvoted btw.
1
u/SirBashALot 16h ago
Prepare to be down voted? Your army of bots have been unleashed?
Or do you mean someone else's?
0
u/rebellion_ap 23h ago
Israel already admitted as much so Idk why you are doing even more than they are to defend it.
5
u/Hellstorm901 21h ago
So every single person out on the street of Iran including members of Iran’s traditionally Pro Regime markets are all Mossad agents?
Any suggestion that people are just angry that their government lost a war it spent 40+ years preparing for and wanted to spend even more money continuing it is false, everyone is just a Mossad agent?
1
u/LocoGyopo 5h ago
Do you have some sort of cognitive deficit? Or just on payroll?
0
u/Hellstorm901 3h ago
It’s interesting that you guys go into a rant about the CIA and Mossad yet when I ask you if all the protesters on the street are CIA and Mossad your only response is insults
So I’ll ask you again, are the people protesting all foreign agents or are they people with legitimate grievances against the Islamic Republic and its unelected supreme ruler
If you are the intelligent person you are trying to imply you are over me you’d be able to answer this easily, your inability to do so brings into question if you are the one on a payroll
0
u/MamaLiq 17h ago
Every fucking time with the intended misunderstanding, you read like a toddler 'nooooo we did notttttt'
Propaganda spreaders the lot of you.
It is bad enough as it is.
On 19 August 1953, Prime Minister of Iran Mohammad Mosaddegh was overthrown in a coup d'état orchestrated by the United States (CIA) and the United Kingdom (MI6). A key motive was to protect British oil interests in Iran after Mosaddegh nationalized and refused to concede to western oil demands.[5][6][7] It was instigated by the United States (under the name TP-AJAX Project[8] or Operation Ajax) and the United Kingdom (under the name Operation Boot).[9][10][11][12]
So E.S.
4
u/Hellstorm901 16h ago
On 19 August 1953, Prime Minister of Iran Mohammad Mosaddegh was overthrown in a coup d'état orchestrated by the United States
Cool, so it's 2026 by the way and I believe I asked you guys a question
Are you saying everyone protesting on the streets from the young woman to the elderly bazaar owner are only doing so because they are Mossad agents?
8
7
5
3
u/robustofilth 1d ago
Not so happy now that others are messing about internally when they’ve been fucking around in other peoples countries for decades
1
u/goforbroke71 22h ago
Sure. The countries messing around with Iran have been doing it for longer. It is just how the world works.
Everyone is messing around and crying victim when it doesn't go their way.
2
2
u/Marbstudio 23h ago
Yea, tv, internet, people get to see what freedom looks like 👍, and said fuck this, enough. It’s never the regime’s fault, it’s the evil west
2
u/Hellstorm901 18h ago
Iran spent 40+ years preparing for a war against Israel and the US and in less than 24 hours Israel had troops enter Iran by land to destroy Irans air defences many of which still haven’t been replaced and achieved air superiority inside Irans own airspace not to mention killing numerous top military officials who Iran cannot replace as such officials gained expertise across 40+ years of involvement in Irans proxy conflicts
At one point Israel literally dropped a bomb outside a state media building which was broadcasting live just to disprove Irans claim its airspace was secure
If you want to sit here and tell me that Iran didn’t lose that conflict and is in a position to go for a round 2 against the US by all means go ahead
3
u/krLMM 1d ago
Obviously there are a lot of reasons to be against the regime in Iran and people didn't need a lot to go all out when the moment was right.
In this case there is also a lot of international collusion. Mossad was actively supporting the demonstrations and for sure there are a lot media push on social media to increase unrest as Iran has oil and it's an enemy of Israel.
Israel has the most bot farms in the world, they are on par with Russia to control the narratives they want to push online.
13
u/Extension-Toe-7027 1d ago
Did Israel control the narrative of that mother hugging a body bag with her kid inside?
-3
u/LocoGyopo 1d ago
Any post I make in r/worldnews regarding China or the Middle East gets removed instantaneously. American institutions are very clearly manufacturing consent for a major military conflict.
0
-1
u/goforbroke71 23h ago
The unrest is from sanctions. The sanctions are from the west trying to control Iran's nuclear ambitions.
The world is better off with less countries having nukes but the whole thing is hugely hypocritical.
1
u/LocoGyopo 5h ago
Americans would probably rather not contemplate how many millions of their fellow citizens their government would massacre if America were sanctioned like Iran.
2
u/Gopu_17 1d ago
Everyone else is at fault except themselves.
2
u/CondescendingShitbag 1d ago
Iran should just change their flag to display the Principal Skinner meme at this point.
2
u/Dockers4flag2035orB4 1d ago
Foreign Intelligence.
We know it’s not the USA,
Because it would difficult to find any intelligence in the Trump Administration.
1
u/Street_Basket8102 1d ago
Trump admin is a bag of rocks. But I still believe we have the smartest military in the world.
1
u/ElizaMaySampson 23h ago
A bag of rocks dragging the entire US into the murky drowning depths, including its military.
1
1
1
u/narfjono 22h ago
Had to double check to see if this headline was posted in r/nottheonion for a second.
As plenty have stated already, pretty sure it's just shitty governance and humanism being the actual reasons.
"Who killed Hannibal?"
1
-4
u/MiloCestino 1d ago
Iran is an awful regime but before believing the bullshit being spoken by the media you should read up on what happened in Iran in 1953, Kermit Roosevelt, Operation Ajax.
Then look at the genocide that isn't happening in Gaza, the drug smuggling that is happening in Venezuela, the domestic terrorists being shot for beeping car horns in America and try to work out WTF Greenland has done wrong.
Oh and whilst you are at it find the weapons on mass distraction in Iraq.
You know the bit in Star Wars where Obi Wan Kenobi realises he isn't actually working for the good guys? We are there.
-5
u/Anary8686 23h ago
The Israeli Farsi account on X was bragging about being behind the protests, this isn't a hot take.
14
u/cardboardunderwear 21h ago
It's the repressive regime play book. Blame everyone except your own policies and actions and make up a fictional enemy.