Military supremo's home front unity boast falls flat with weary Iranians

The Israeli air force conducted reconnaissance flights inside Iran in advance of the conflict to ensure the eventual safe penetration of its airspace and identify weaknesses in Iranian air defense systems, the report said.

“Israeli pilots had been secretly flying over Iran since 2016, learning the landscape and exploring various routes to minimize the chances of detection,” ProPublica reported.

Israel launched a surprise military campaign on June 13 targeting military and nuclear sites, assassinating senior Iranian commanders and killing hundreds of civilians. In response, Iranian missile strikes killed 29 Israeli civilians.

The espionage operation involved a vast network of local recruits who were activated on the second day of the war, June 14, to launch coordinated attacks to disable air defenses and missile launchers.

“One hundred percent of the anti-aircraft batteries marked for the Mossad by the air force were destroyed,” ProPublica cited a source as saying. “Most were near Tehran, in areas where the Israeli air force had not previously operated.”

According to the report, Israeli-trained commandos recruited from Iran and neighboring countries were deployed across the country to carry out the attacks from within. Israeli intelligence used front companies to ship the necessary equipment into Iran legally, it added.

“According to Israeli planners, they arranged for unwitting truck drivers to smuggle tons of ‘metallic equipment’, parts for weapons used by the commando teams into Iran,” the report said.

After the surprise military campaign, Iranian media reported on several attack drone assembly production sites inside Iran set up by Israel.

Sources told ProPublica that the agents who carried out the sabotage, breaking into safes, setting up machine guns, disabling air defenses, and monitoring the homes of nuclear scientists, were not Israelis, but Iranians or citizens of third countries.

Intelligence gathering and targeting scientists

Israeli operatives also conducted intelligence operations around the Natanz nuclear facility, collecting soil samples to monitor uranium enrichment levels, ProPublica reported.

“Mossad veterans said operatives, likely Israelis posing as Europeans installing or servicing equipment, walked around Natanz wearing shoes with double soles that collected dust and soil samples,” the report noted.

Tests later revealed that Iranian-made centrifuges were enriching uranium well beyond the 5% level.

The sources cited by ProPublica added that moving shipments in and out of Iran was relatively easy. “Boxes and crates were shipped by sea or in trucks driven legitimately through border crossings,” one said.

Tracking targets

The report also described a long-term surveillance campaign that tracked 11 Iranian nuclear scientists, including details of their daily routines and even the layout of their homes.

“The dossiers even mapped the locations of the bedrooms in the men’s homes. On the morning of June 13, Israeli warplanes fired air-to-ground missiles at those coordinates, killing all 11,” the report stated.

“Officials emphasized that the military logistics of the operation were coordinated by Israel's military intelligence directorate and the Israeli air force, which reportedly struck more than a thousand targets during the 11-day air campaign,” Propublica reported.

According to an Iranian government spokesperson, 1,062 Iranians were killed during the conflict, including 786 military personnel and 276 civilians.

Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) announced all the country's defense sites are fully operational and updated.

“Iran’s air defense was damaged early in the 12-day war, but since then Iran has rebuilt and modernized its systems. Israel now realizes that Iran’s air defense in a future war would be multiple times stronger,” IRGC affiliated Tasnim News said on Thursday.

Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously said during a visit to Washington in July that Israel had rolled back parts of Iran’s nuclear program, but suggested that the confrontation with the Islamic Republic is far from over.

Most people I see in Tehran feel suspended in uncertainty, struggling with daily water and electricity outages while fearing the return of United Nationas sanctions and another war. They want change, but can’t see it on the horizon.

Worst of all, they feel they can’t express their concerns and thoughts.

“These days, you have to declare your political stance before you can say anything. And what you say must fit the dominant binaries, even if it’s about the price of beef.”

Shahriar is 36. He was laid off from his HR job just after the Iran-Israel ceasefire. He now delivers food while looking for work.

“There’s no voice that represents us,” Shahriar says. “And by us, I mean those who hate the Islamic Republic but don’t want to see the country destroyed by war. The atmosphere of accusation, labeling and hate online is so intense that I stopped posting on X and Instagram two weeks ago.”

That hostility, he says, has spilled beyond the screen.

“I’ve seen this toxicity enter friendships and family gatherings. If you criticize the war, people assume you support the regime—even though that same regime has imprisoned anti-war activists. Even supporters of the regime can’t tolerate anti-war views.”

Pick a side

Since the widespread protests of 2022, many activists have been calling for unity between those who want to see fundamental change in Iran. But solidarity remains fragile and elusive. A coalition of six high-profile opposition figures offered a glimmer of hope. But the effort quickly collapsed, widening divides and deepening mistrust.

“There’s this illusion that only two camps exist. Either you follow a scripted, militant vision of regime change or you’re a regime collaborator,” says Shiva, a civil society activist in Tehran.

The polarization, she believes, has erased nuance and pushed those like her out of conversations.

“Say Israel committed crimes, and one group calls you a regime apologist. Say the same thing to the other side, and they’ll ask why you’re silent about Iran’s military achievements. You find yourself defending your integrity instead of your argument. Constantly. It’s exhausting—and sad.”

Repeat the line

A recent study by LifeWeb, an analytics group operating under restrictions in Iran, offers a partial window into online activity during and after the Iran-Israel war.

The report says the hashtag #جانم_فدای_ایران (“My life for Iran”)—promoted by former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif—was used in over 514,000 posts generated by only 17,000 users. That’s an average of 30 posts per user, suggesting coordinated repetition rather than broad engagement.

Likewise, in the final three days of the war, the Trump-associated hashtag #MIGA (Make Iran Great Again) appeared more than one million times from just 30,000 users—again averaging 30 posts each. This peak came during a nationwide internet blackout in Iran, raising further questions about the campaign’s authenticity.

While not conclusive, such patterns underscore how coordinated efforts can dominate digital narratives, often overshadowing the quieter voices who oppose both war and authoritarianism.

Silence yourself

This “distortion” shapes perception, says Navid, a 28-year-old MBA student.

“These campaigns make it seem like most Iranians supported the Israeli strikes. But around me, most people saw war as a dangerous way to bring change. Sure, some defend it—but when the majority stays silent, the loud minority becomes the dominant voice.”

Navid believes this dynamic makes people fear expressing their views, feeling isolated in their beliefs. His friend Sina nods as he speaks before jumping in to vent his frustration at “losing” the only space he had to talk.

“Social media is the one platform most of us have to express our views. And it has been taken over by aggressive minorities and pressure groups.

“How can we reach a shared understanding, a shared purpose, when all we do is attack and cancel each other,” he asks. “The worst bit is we don’t even know if those shutting us up are real people or bots and cyber mercenaries.”

In 1980, months after Islamists took over what appeared to be everyone’s revolution, Iran’s renowned poet Ahmad Shamlou wrote one of his most recited lines to describe the repression: “They sniff your mouth, lest you’ve said ‘I love you.’”

It’s chilling to hear that line whispered again, not in defiance of power, but in fear of each other.

The group rejected involvement in the 2010 killing of physics professor Masoud Ali-Mohammadi and the 2011 killing of nuclear scientist Majid Shahriari, calling the allegations “pure lies fabricated by the intelligence services” of the Islamic Republic to “demonize the MEK.”

Response to renewed allegations
The statement followed comments by Vida Mehrannia, wife of Swedish-Iranian researcher Ahmadreza Djalali, in an interview with Iran International’s “Cheshmandaz” program, in which she noted that some Iranian state media outlets had accused the MEK of aiding in the scientists’ assassinations.

Djalali was arrested in 2016 while visiting Iran at the invitation of universities in Tehran and Shiraz and later sentenced to death on espionage charges. He has repeatedly denied the allegations, saying they stem from his refusal to cooperate with the Revolutionary Guards in spying on Western countries.

Past denials and nuclear disclosures

The MEK said it has repeatedly condemned Djalali’s death sentence and called for his immediate release, adding that it had previously, including in a 2012 statement, categorically denied involvement in the nuclear scientists’ killings.

While rejecting the assassination allegations, the group emphasized its history of exposing Iran’s nuclear activities. It said to have made 133 disclosures in the past 34 years aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, including a May report to Fox News alleging the existence of a secret nuclear site in Semnan province, and a 2020 report that facilities in Tehran and Abadeh were linked to weapons production.

The deal seeks to end decades of conflict between the two countries and includes a 43.5-kilometer corridor across Armenian territory, Axios reported. The route, to be developed by the United States and called the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, will connect Azerbaijan’s mainland with its Nakhchivan exclave, which borders Iran and Turkey.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought over Nagorno-Karabakh since the late 1980s, most recently in 2023 when Azerbaijan seized the territory. The corridor would enable travel and trade between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Central Asia without crossing Iran or Russia. Iran has opposed the project, saying it would cut off its only direct land route to Armenia and reduce its influence in the South Caucasus. Russia has also criticized it, while Turkey supports it.

Washington’s quiet diplomacy

Axios said the Trump administration’s work began in March when White House special envoy Steve Witkoff visited Baku after a trip to Moscow at Qatar’s request. According to a US official who spoke to Axios, Witkoff then asked Aryeh Lightstone, a former aide to US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and close to Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, to lead the talks. Lightstone made five trips to the region to negotiate with both sides.

The same US official told Axios that negotiators pitched Pashinyan on the idea that by allowing a US-developed route, Armenia would gain a strong partner in Washington and a safeguard against future pressure from Baku. Armenia dropped its long-standing objection to the corridor during these talks.

Geopolitical and economic stakes

The route is expected to boost regional trade by billions of dollars a year, US officials told Axios. It would also limit the role of Russia and Iran, whose influence in the South Caucasus has been challenged since the Ukraine war.

The US official said Tehran fears the corridor will leave it more dependent on Azerbaijan for access to Russia and Europe.

The same official described the plan as “very Trumpian,” focusing on trade and economic growth rather than framing it purely as a security issue, and said the deal opens Armenia to the world and gives it the United States as a key partner instead of Iran.

From quiet talks to public signing

Trump called the upcoming gathering a Historic Peace Summit and praised both leaders for “doing the right thing” for their people in a post on Truth Social.

“Peace is not finalized there is still more work to do, but the accord sets out the main issues and steps to resolve them,” the US official told Axios. The agreement will begin with government-to-government cooperation, with hopes it will grow into warmer relations between citizens over time.

“If the liberation of Iran happens, it will happen because we delivered a very strong blow to Iran’s seeming invincibility, and the people will rise from within,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu said he was pleased with the responses he said he received from Iranians following his direct video messages addressed to the Iranian people advocating for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic.

“I’m amazed. Millions and millions of responses from Iran, sometimes with their names, even their faces. You can't believe they’re doing that, but it shows the thirst for liberation there,” he said.

Israel prime minister’s remarks on regime change in Iran came on the same day Tasnim News, an outlet affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), called the goal of regime change in Iran a futile scheme by Israel.

“In the recent war, Israel bet heavily on political and social collapse in Iran, expecting the public to turn against the Islamic Republic. But what actually happened was the complete opposite of their expectations,” Tasnim said.

Asked about the prospect of more countries in the region normalizing ties with Israel in the so-called Abraham Accords, Netanyahu said he remains hopeful that even Iran might eventually do so.

“Iran could be too, if the people of Iran rise,” he said. “I think many of them want that, they want to relieve themselves of that tyranny.”

Israel launched a series of strikes on June 13 targeting Iranian military and nuclear sites, assassinating senior commanders and killing hundreds of civilians. In retaliation, Iranian missiles killed 29 Israeli civilians.

Asked whether Iran was discussed during a recent call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Netanyahu suggested Iran's superpower ally did not approve of its uranium enrichment.

“I took note of the fact that (Putin) said Iran should not have nuclear enrichment, which is the American position and our position. I thought that was very good,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu had previously said during a visit to Washington in July that Israel had rolled back parts of Iran’s nuclear program, but suggested that the confrontation with the Islamic Republic is far from over.