TEHRAN – A recent revelation in Israeli media leaves little doubt that Mossad has been directly involved in fueling unrest in Iran, alongside military actions since June last year, in an effort to topple the Islamic Republic.

According to Israel Hayom, soon after David (Dadi) Barnea became Mossad chief in June 2021 (he assumed full operational duties by September 2021), the spy agency launched its “influence operations branch” as part of its campaign against Iran.

The report said that since then, regime change has become one of Mossad’s core missions, and this was expressed in full force in the military operation (the so-called “Roaring Lion”) that Israel and the US jointly launched against Iran on February 28.

Digital warfare

It said one of the infrastructures prepared in advance by the influence branch ahead of that operation was a “poison machine” that the Mossad operates on social media, based on fictitious accounts and spreading information intended to undermine Iran’s stability. It also points to the destructive role of the London-based Iran International TV channel—which is believed to be funded by Israel to trigger unrest in Iran—and speeches by President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s deposed Shah, encouraging Iranian masses to take to the streets.

It said Mossad agents were activated on Iranian soil and, among other things, worked to strike missile launchers and that agents also engaged in influence operations such as photographing strikes on military facilities and institutions and distributing the images to provoke chaos in Iran.

Operational expansion

The report added that before the recent aggression, Mossad already believed that the combination of influence operations together with military pressure would lead to a dramatic outcome: regime change. That, at least, is what Barnea promised  Trump in a video call held in the days preceding the attack. Citing sources, it also said Barnea was convinced that if Trump refuses to sign an agreement with Iran and continues pressure on Iranian ports, regime change could happen by the end of 2026.

The report said Barnea established three new branches in Mossad. One of them was an operational branch used to deploy non-Israeli agents to replace Israeli Mossad agents, whose access to enemy countries had been blocked by the development of facial-recognition technology. It said that during the escalation, these foreign agents on Iranian soil carried out military operations inside Iran.

“This is a branch that managed to recruit and train foreign agents at a very high level, including training in Israel. When Dadi began the reform, he did not know its products would be expressed so quickly,” a source well acquainted with Mossad’s work told Israel Hayom.

The report said Barnea recently defined the capabilities of the influence operations branch as an “unconventional weapon.” The man responsible for this unconventional weapon is O., who is 51, served in the Israeli military in Unit 8200, and has served in the Mossad since 2003. He spent most of his career as a collection officer, recruiting and running agents abroad.

Influence operations

O.’s first step, after being appointed to establish and head the influence branch, was to meet advertising and marketing professionals, journalists, and political campaigners. In the next stage, he established a new intelligence department designed to understand public moods and media trends in Iran.

Months after the June 2025 war, the branch accelerated the establishment of its infrastructure inside Iran. Beyond the “poison machine,” the influence branch also established ties with online influencers, some of them inside Iran, so they could help spread messages on social media. In other cases, the Mossad itself created online influencers using AI. “All of this kept intensifying out of an understanding that when the military move arrived, it would provide another push,” O. said. 

According to the report, after the January protests in Iran, the Mossad’s program included a package of operational missions, as well as the training and arming of Kurdish forces inside Iran and on its borders.

Strategic miscalculation

The report said the Israeli June 2025 war against Iran, the so-called “Operation Rising Lion”, was aimed at attacking nuclear sites and surface-to-surface missiles. And the February 28 war sought regime change.

It said the US Central Intelligence Agency was already aware of the Mossad’s plan and supported it, and that the CIA helped Barnea persuade Trump as well.

According to the report, the influence branch believed that just days before the February 28 war, there was a peak period of tension between the Iranian public and the government, and that there was a real opportunity to exploit this rift. The second assumption was that Mossad had tools capable of widening that rift, and that combining them with kinetic operations would amplify the effect.
“We tell the Americans that we have the ability to speak to the public and create influence moves that can greatly amplify the military strikes and call for an uprising, and that there are also potential ties with elements that may be able to challenge the leadership and perhaps create a kind of alternative.”

Under the illusion that widespread dissatisfaction would lead to collapse, the US. and Israel launched war on Iran in late February, but their assessment proved to be completely wrong.

Iran’s response and unity

After weeks of war, despite attacks on Iranian military and civilian infrastructure and the killing of thousands of people, Iranians showed remarkable resilience. In addition to strong retaliatory operations against Israel and American bases in the Persian Gulf region that forced Trump to accept a ceasefire, people demonstrated unwavering support for the Islamic Republic. Three months after the escalation, people are still holding nightly rallies to support the Islamic Republic and denounce the US-Israeli aggression. 
This is not accidental, because Iranians, despite their grievances over economic problems, have historically shown resilience and become united against foreign aggression. This unity has been emphasized by Iran’s Leader.

In his recent statement, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei said this unity gives Iran the upper hand against its enemies. “Among the manifestations of piety is the observance of the great blessing of national unity and the unparalleled cohesion that has been granted to the Iranian nation gathered under the banner of the Islamic Republic. This unity is among the most important factors of victory against the ‘Great Satan (the United States).’”

He further stressed: “Pay attention to preserving this unity and avoid futile political disputes and the exaggeration of social differences.”

Social differences are what the US and Israel are trying to highlight to accomplish what they failed to achieve on the military battlefield.

“The enemy’s blind plan, after the imposed war, economic pressure, and propaganda and political siege, is to create division and social fragmentation to compensate for its military defeats and bring the nation to its knees,” Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei pointed out in his message. 

 From this perspective, national unity remains a central factor that neutralizes efforts aimed at fragmentation and strengthens the country’s position against external adversaries.