TEHRAN – Iran’s security establishment says the recent wave of unrest was a coordinated operation involving at least 10 foreign intelligence services, relying on social media manipulation, proxy networks and targeted violence to push the country toward instability.

In a detailed interview published by KHAMENEI.IR, Brigadier General Majid Khademi, the head of the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) described a “hybrid war” that blended online influence campaigns with on-the-ground sabotage. He said foreign services handled the design of the unrest, distributed roles among operatives, built networks, trained recruits and provided intelligence support — in some cases directing rioters in real time through digital platforms.

According to Gen. Khademi, Israel’s military intelligence, particularly its elite Unit 8200, played a prominent role by deploying a limited number of real operators amplified by millions of automated accounts across social media. The goal, he said, was to manufacture momentum, spread fear and create the impression that public order had collapsed.

He cited remarks attributed to an Israeli security official who openly advocated arming Iranians and providing them with sensitive intelligence. “We should tell them where the Basij are, where commanders sleep, where their families are,” the official said, according to Gen. Khademi. “We should even give people weapons.”

Iranian officials say this approach reflects a shift away from traditional espionage toward decentralized, digitally mediated operations that reduce physical exposure for foreign handlers. Operatives trained under this model, Gen. Khademi said, are harder to detect — but not invisible.

He said Iranian intelligence began countermeasures well before the unrest reached the streets, identifying and disrupting networks tied to hostile services. Authorities, he added, identified, arrested or turned roughly 46 individuals linked to foreign intelligence agencies; dismantled destabilization networks connected to families of those killed in earlier riots across nine provinces; and seized large quantities of communications equipment and weapons. Some detainees, he said, had been recruited and activated through online platforms.

Some perpetrators were subjected to psychological conditioning similar to ISIS recruitment methods, including the use of narcotics or mind-altering substances, to lower inhibitions and push them toward extreme acts such as arson, mutilation and targeted killings.

At the same time, Gen. Khademi said, the expansion of flashpoints — from assaults on military sites to attacks on places of worship and medical centers — was intended to stretch Iran’s security apparatus thin, creating openings for external pressure or even a combined foreign strike.

“The pattern we saw was not protest,” Gen. Khademi said, “but organized violence designed to punish the people themselves.”