‘No natural uprising’: Prominent global voices on US-Israeli role in engineering riots in Iran

By Press TV Staff Writer

What began last month as largely peaceful protests by Iranian merchants over economic grievances gradually escalated into armed riots orchestrated by the United States and Israel.

The direct involvement of Israeli and American intelligence agencies in acts of terrorism targeting civilians and public property in several Iranian cities has been acknowledged by American politicians, as well as by social media influencers and journalists.

These figures admit that the unrest followed a familiar pattern of external orchestration, with Mossad and the CIA directing events to advance their “regime change” agenda in Iran.

The available evidence points clearly to the US and Israel as the primary architects of the riots and terrorism, an assessment echoed in various media statements.

Iranian authorities maintain that the initial protests, which were legitimate and rooted in genuine economic hardship, were quickly hijacked and transformed into a coordinated campaign of terror bearing the unmistakable hallmarks of foreign intelligence involvement.

Officials note that the character of the unrest changed on January 8, when economic protests gave way to organized violence carried out by foreign-backed rioters and saboteurs.

Armed groups attacked shops, banks, bus stations, and mosques, while security personnel attempting to restore order were also killed. Civilians also lost their lives.

The demonstrations that started last month amid severe currency volatility and rising inflation, as noted by prominent American commentator John Mearsheimer,  were directly linked to unlawful and unjustified US and European sanctions.  

In an interview with Piers Morgan on Monday, Mearsheimer said the economic pressures on the Iranian people provided the spark that brought them to the streets.

“The major reason they’ve had enough is because of the state of the Iranian economy. And what has happened here is that over time, with economic sanctions, we have wrecked the Iranian economy. We are principally responsible for driving these protests,” he said.

“People are protesting the state of the Iranian economy, which is in dire straits in large part because of American sanctions. Had there been no American sanctions, there would be no protest today.”

The direct involvement of foreign actors has been acknowledged not only by senior Iranian officials but also by former US military and intelligence figures.

Larry Johnson, a former CIA officer, stated unequivocally: “The recent chaos in Iran was not a natural uprising, but a calculated intelligence operation by the CIA and Mossad.”

Douglas MacGregor, a retired US Army colonel, traced how legitimate economic grievances evolved into externally driven unrest.

“The protests in Iran started because of real economic problems, but then they became a CIA and Mossad operation. Spending money, giving Starlink, inciting protesters, and even inciting the crowd to shoot at the police to escalate the violence. All of this ultimately failed.”

Jeffrey Sachs, a professor at Columbia University, placed the events within a broader historical pattern of US and Israeli covert activity.

“The Iranian protests are a very specific type of war that the CIA and Mossad have used many times over the decades. So the US and Israeli strategy is well known.”

John Mearsheimer described what he sees as a “systematic strategy” behind the unrest.
“What is happening in Iran is going exactly according to the US-Israeli playbook and has several elements,” the international relations expert said.

“The first step is that we sanction a country, destroy its economy, and punish its people. The second step is that at some point, we decide to incite and feed massive protests. The third step in this process is to incite a massive disinformation campaign, the goal of which is to convince everyone in the West that these protests are internal. The fourth step in this process is the entry of the US military.” 

Israeli involvement in the recent riots was also acknowledged by the Israeli media itself. The Jerusalem Post reported: “Mossad agents are present at the Iranian protests.”

Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo added to the controversy with a message that Iranian officials later cited as unusually revealing.

“Happy New Year to all Iranians on the streets. And to every Mossad agent walking alongside them,” he wrote, making public what was already widely alleged.

John Kiriakou, another former CIA officer, pointed directly to Israeli media narratives.

“The Israelis have confirmed that many of the Iranian protesters are Mossad agents. They boast about it in Israeli newspapers."

Hamid Dabashi, a professor at Columbia University, echoed this assessment, stating that “Mossad agents are hiding among Iranian protesters.”

Meanwhile, Tamir Morag, an anchor on Israel’s Channel 14 TV, highlighted the lethal consequences of foreign involvement.

“Foreign elements are arming protesters in Iran with firearms, which is causing hundreds of deaths among members of the government,” he said. The tweet was widely shared, including by Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

At the same time, other voices have emphasized attempts by foreign powers to influence and reshape Iran’s political future.

Cenk Uygur, director of the American TYT network, framed the issue bluntly.

“Israel and the United States do not want democracy in Iran. Instead, what they want is a puppet leader. So they are trying to bring the former Shah, a dictator who will do whatever Israel wants, to power in Iran,” he stated.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic also drew a direct historical parallel to one of the most sensitive episodes in modern Iranian history.

“Mossad and CIA are interfering in the Iranian protests and trying to repeat the scenario of the Western coup of 1953. I urge people to read ‘Operation Ajax’ and ‘All the Shah’s Men’ and see how Mossad and CIA are using the same formula again,” he wrote.

Carl Niehaus, a South African member of parliament, highlighted: “The US, CIA, and Mossad are actively fomenting protests in Iran.”

Alastair Crooke, a former British diplomat, described the operational side of the unrest.

“A small and very violent group of rioters in Iran was trained by foreign NGOs and other Western intelligence agencies. These organizations engineered chaos in Iran to pave the way for US/Israeli intervention,” he said.

Taken together, these statements confirm that the riots were not an organic social movement, but a coordinated, foreign-backed operation directed by the United States and Israel.

The consistency of testimonies — from former CIA officers and US military figures to Israeli media, Western academics, and foreign heads of state — underscores the credibility of this assessment, showing the violence was engineered rather than spontaneous.

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