According to multiple leaks from Israeli officials and media outlets, Israel is preparing to attack Iran. It did so last June, and this would be the second round. There is clearly no strategic reason to do so.
After knocking out much of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, it now claims it will target its missile program, which would carry potential nuclear warheads to their target. But in fact, Iran has neither such a warhead nor a missile capable of delivering it.
The sole reason for this attack is not military, but political. With the Gaza ceasefire, Israelis will begin turning their attention back to domestic affairs. Among the most salient is the population’s disgust with Netanyahu. 53% view him unfavorably in recent polls. He has been on trial for several years for multiple counts of corruption. His unprecedented run as prime minister threatens to end by the next election later this year.
Iran is a perfect foil. A perfect diversion. Forcing Israel’s attention on an outside enemy, distracts from its domestic interests. It also divides Netanyahu’s rivals and the political opposition, which cannot criticize military operations against such an enemy state.
He is a consummate tactician, leaving nothing to chance. He works all the angles, constantly seeking advantages against political rivals within his own coalition and the political opposition. He is a manipulator, a pathological liar, and above all, a survivor. He respects no moral values. The only value is his own self-interest. Iran is an appealing option for these reasons. There is no political downside. Only an upside.
Propaganda campaign
Among his machinations surrounding Iran, he’s created a massive propaganda operation to promote the Israeli narrative and manipulate global opinion. As a result, media outlets, especially Israeli, have published multiple stories making far-fetched, ill-founded claims both about Israeli capabilities and Iranian misdeeds. Two exaples in particular caught my attention.
The Times of London reported that amidst the national protests on the streets of Iran against the government, its officials were plotting an exit plan for Grand Ayatollah Khamenei. The anonymous intelligence sources for the piece claimed that, like Bashar al Assad, he would flee to Russia, or possibly China.
Similarly, an AI campaign disseminating fake news during Israel’s June attack on Iran, boasted that the latter’s officials were fleeing the country. It can be no coincidence that Sabti offered the same invented claims to the Times.
The story is preposterous. Unlike good journalism, it takes its sources at face value and offers no skepticism regarding any of their claims. While there are serious protests throughout the country which target the regime for its disastrous economic policies, the government is by no means threatened. The Ayatollah isn’t going anywhere. And in the worst case, if it did fall, Khamenei would certainly choose martyrdom over flight.
Anyone who would suggest that Khamenei would flee his country simply doesn’t understand the sacred nature of martyrdom in Shia Islam or the mindset of an Iranian cleric. Or if they do understand, they are deliberately propagating a scenario they know is false.
Media outlets pump out Israeli messaging
.@thetimes shamefully reports a story based on an Israeli intelligence officer who’s secretly been paid by the Israeli govt to promote its message to global media. This story is the handiwork of @gabrielle_sivia whose work is an insult to journalism. https://t.co/pCGZrl9rWr
— Tikun Olam 🍉🇮🇷 (@richards1052) January 6, 2026
A distinction w/o a difference. Everything he said to you is tainted by the fact that he was paid by the government to tell you everything he did. And you published it without knowing or acknowledging (if you did know) that his statements were tainted. This is shoddy journalism https://t.co/TzIYQc1i45
— Tikun Olam 🍉🇮🇷 (@richards1052) January 6, 2026
The claim Khamenei is headed 4 exile is a wet dream of Mossad & Bibi. 4 U to rpt as if it were imminent or even likely is journalistic malpractice. If U consulted any1 besides Israeli intel sources (eg academics or analysts w knowledge in the field) you’d know this is bullshit https://t.co/XFWbZXnlwc
— Tikun Olam 🍉🇮🇷 (@richards1052) January 8, 2026
Gabrielle Weiniger, author of this fanciful piece of journalism, does name one particular source, Beni Sabti. He is an Israeli-Iranian and ardent regime opponent. He’s also a retired intelligence official who served in Unit 8200 and various national security posts. The same day her story was published, 7th Eye, the Israeli media watchdog, published an expose about Sabti. An official contract revealed that he had been paid $30,000 for 50 hours of work per month and required:
Experience and in-depth familiarity with the Israeli narrative concerning the agenda, government messages and national propaganda [hasbara]. ‘This is a significant job…when…the announcer is the ‘face’…of the national information system and conveys the national messages in an accurate,
In order to protect itself from exposure of the scheme, the Prime Minister’s office used an unnamed group, which Sabti refused to name, as a conduit for payments to him. He also states that the payments did not come via government funding: thus shielding the entire operation from scrutiny, giving the PMO plausible deniability.
Weiniger never mentioned this in her story. Even after approaching her for comment, she refused to acknowledge anything problematic about the payments or their opacity. This exemplifies the standard of journalism at the Times. It offers tall tales about Israeli derring-do. It even published this anonymous, unsourced, unverified account purportedly written by an ex-Mossad spy.
If there is one Beni Sabti, there could be a score more. They are a dime a dozen. Many are willing to peddle propaganda for a price. The quality of their offerings often gives them away as conduits for the ruling regime.
Fake Mossad
با هم به خیابان ها بیایید. وقتش رسیده.
ما همراه شما هستیم. نه تنها از راه دور و شفاهی. در میدان نیز همراهتان هستیم.
— Mossad Farsi (@MossadSpokesman) December 29, 2025
“Let’s come out to the streets together. The time has come. We are with you. Not just from afar and verbally. We are with you in the field as well.”
Another element of the psychological warfare is an account purporting to be hosted by the Mossad’s Farsi section. It’s been described to me by an Israeli source as a “semi-official” Mossad account. There is some debate back and forth on Twitter about its authenticity. In the end, it doesn’t matter much whether it’s an official spook account; or created by some freelancer. The impact is almost the same.
One of its tweets (above) claims its agents are in the streets with Iranian protesters. Joining them in their calls for freedom and democracy. Such high-minded sentiments are ludicrous. Israel doesn’t want a democratic Iran. Just the opposite. It wants an Iran subservient to Israeli interests. Preferably ruled Mohammed Reza Pahlevi, son and heir of the ex-Shah. He’s been promoted by Israel as the country’s “great white hope”: a strongman in the mold of Hosni Mubarak or Mohammed bin Salman. A member of the elite who knows his place as long as his palm is greased regularly.
For the Mossad (or Twitter hoaxsters appropriating its identity) boasting that it’s infiltrated the Iran protest movement and is orchestrating it, is a sure way to discredit it as a legitimate expression of the people’s resistance. But a clever way to sow dissension & confusion in Iranian society as a whole.
Pro-Pahlevi
Haaretz published an expose of another Israeli social media campaign on behalf of Pahlevi, the pretender to the Peacock Throne. It consists of thousands of AI-generated accounts and content promoting him as a successor to the Shah if/when the current regime falls.
One of the more striking aspects of this operation is a massive network of accounts which posted news of the Israeli attack on Evin prison, which freed hundreds of prisoners (many criminals). This content was published simultaneously to the attack almost to the minute:
The Israeli strike occurred at around 11:15 A.M. on June 23 and lasted about an hour. At 11:52 A.M., before the first reports in the Iranian media on the attack, the network’s accounts began reporting “explosions in the prison area.” The X posts were designed to create the impression that the accounts belonged to Iranians living in the area…
A few minutes after noon, while the bombing of the prison was still underway…another account linked to the network published a video supposedly of an explosion at the prison…One after another, the various accounts identified as part of the network began pushing the video. This video, as later revealed in a New York Times investigation, wasn’t authentic footage from the scene of the bombing. But this finding came after media outlets around the world had shared it. The @Tel Aviv_Tehran page also pushed out the clip, which researchers say was created with AI.
There is no way these accounts could have had access to the information other than the IDF leaking it to them. Such battle plans and targets are customarily among the closest-guarded of military secrets. They are never leaked to anyone beforehand (except by Pete Hegseth, and then unintentionally). This indicates that the army either originated this media effort itself; or that it did so in collaboration with closely allied third-parties. Then intelligence minister, Gila Gamliel, also played a key role in pro-Pahlevi operation.
This is the way of Israel…and Zionism. Subterfuge, lies, deception, violence, naked aggression, war, secrecy: the worst characteristics of a nation state with few of the beneficial ones. At least, the US could once boast of its constitutional democracy and respect for human rights. Israel never had any quality that would recommend it to the world, though it claimed otherwise. No one, except its few sycophants, looks up to it as a model.
Invasion of the Bots
An Israeli TV report indicates that 50% of the Israeli accounts on social media are bots spouting pro-Israel messaging:
…Politically active accounts on Israeli social media are not real people but rather bots, including many of those boosting posts by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his right-wing coalition…
Netanyahu is not the only one using bot networks to broadcast pro-government content. India, Saudi Arabia, UAE and others commonly do this. But for Israel, this is part of a broad propaganda effort with multiple components, some of which I’ve outlined above.
A recent expose of the activities of Canary Mission (CM) portray an extensive, largely secret campaign to sabotage the work of pro-Palestine NGOs, and savage the lives and careers of US and Palestinian activists. It coordinates efforts with a network of like-minded groups. Among their strategies are filing multiple lawsuits against the pro-Palestine NGOs and even lawsuits against universities. Other nefarious activities include doxxing, death threats, and orchestrated campaigns targeting employers, who often capitulate and fire targeted individuals. Doctors, professors and IT professionals have been driven from their jobs.
Among the most prominent of the Zionist stalking horses is the Stopantisemitism Twitter account, which exploits a warped definition of anti-Semitism to tar these individuals as Jew haters. Canary Mission also researches and publishes damaging information regarding NGOs such as Jewish Voice for Peace, Students for Justice in Palestine, American Muslims for Palestine, and others. This includes feeding stories to sympathetic foreign journalists and identities of immigrant targets to ICE.
The DropSite News story offers numerous internal documents outlining the sophisticated and complex effort, directed mainly from Israel, and funded by both its government, foundations, and individual donors such as Adam Milstein. Among them, funds like the Impact Forum ($2-million in assets) support a network of 40 US Judeo-supremacist organizations. The Merona Leadership Foundation, also founded by Milstein, has $4-million in assets. Among the groups funded are:
- StandWithUs ($34-million total assets)
- Stopantisemitism
- Shurat Hadin
- Bnai Brith Canada
- Brandeis Center ($18-million total revenue)
- NGO Monitor
- Palestine Media Watch
- Henry Jackson Society ($500,000 revenue)
- Lawfare Project ($5-million assets)
- MEMRI
- Washington Institute for Middle East Peace (WINEP) ($98-million assets)
- UN Watch ($5-million assets)
- Foundation for Defense of Democracies ($42-million assets)
- Central Fund for Israel ($40-million assets)
Mother Jones catalogued a history of the pro-Israel blacklist and such intimidation campaigns.
The sophisticated organization of CM’s projects indicates a budget of millions or tens of millions, though it’s difficult to track, since much of this information is secret for obvious reasons. Its Israeli partner, Megamot Shalom, raised $1-million in its most recent reporting document. But CM raises funds via multiple vehicles, including the Central Fund of Israel, which itself has raised hundreds of millions for some of the most violent colonial settlements. Neither Israel nor CM wants the world to know the funding, donors or level of manipulation it employs in its propaganda efforts.
Trump’s invasion of Venezuela is a godsend for three global powers: Israel, Russia and China. Each of them now have a decisive precedent that will legitimize there own acts of piracy and aggression. Russia in Ukraine; China in Taiwan; and Israel throughout the Middle East.
Iran, in particular, must be brought to heel. After Venezuela, there will be no limit to Israeli attacks. Similar to the hundreds of air assaults on Iranian and Hezbollah assets in Syria under the Assad regime, Israel will now act at will. While these rapacious thugs will happily reap their rewards, the rest of the world will sink into chaos as the ties that bound us (international law and the rules-based order) collapse under the sheer weight of the corpses piled high.
It is truly impressive how much effort went into this collection of tired tropes and conspiracy-laden “analysis.” To suggest that a sovereign nation’s defense against a regime that openly calls for its annihilation is nothing more than a “political diversion” isn’t just shoddy journalism—it’s a willful denial of reality.
A few points for the author to consider:
The “Strategic” Delusion: The author claims there is “no strategic reason” to target missile programs or nuclear infrastructure. Apparently, in this writer’s world, waiting for a hostile regime to actually launch a nuclear-capable missile is the only “valid” time to act. In the real world, proactive defense is what keeps citizens alive.
The Martyrdom Myth: The romanticization of the Iranian leadership is laughable. To claim the Ayatollah would choose “martyrdom” ignores decades of self-preservation at the expense of the Iranian people’s blood and economy.
The “Bot” Obsession: When people support Israel’s right to exist and defend itself, this article dismisses them as “bots” or “paid actors.” It’s the ultimate coping mechanism for those who cannot handle the fact that millions of people globally understand the necessity of Zionism.
Selective Outrage: The author spends paragraphs attacking “propaganda” while citing Twitter accounts and “leaks” as gospel truth whenever they suit the narrative. This isn’t an expose; it’s a manifesto of resentment.
If the goal of this piece was to offer an objective look at Middle Eastern geopolitics, it failed miserably. If the goal was to provide a megaphone for those who prefer Israel to be a passive victim rather than a proactive state, then mission accomplished. Stick to the “tall tales”—at least those are labeled as fiction.
@David Fogel:
Despite the attempt at snark, I thank you for the unintended compliment.
A tired old, false Zionist trope. No Iranian leader has ever called for Israel’s annihilation. Israeli leaders, on the other hand, not only speak openly about regime change, they engage in aggression against the people of Iran. Netanyahu, speaking at the Dimona nuclear reactor, threatened to annihilate Iran with an Israeli nuclear weapon. Iran has never initiated an attack Israel. It has responded to Israeli first-strike, but not engaged in a first strike of its own.
Iran doesn’t have a nuclear weapon. It ceased development of such a weapon in 2003, as confirmed by the IAEA AND the CIA. Its leader has issued a religious fatwa forbidding the use of a nuclear weapon. Israel on the other hand has at least 400 such warheads and has, during various wars, considered using them.
Murdering scientists, bombing cities, destroying infrastructure is not “proactive defense.” It is naked aggression and a violation of internatonal law, which neither you nor Israel believe in.
I’m entertained by how little you know about Shia Islam. You speak of “decades” of history. The founder of Shia Islam was martyred. Muslims today mark his death and emulate the suffering he endured in religious ceremonies. You’ve just elided 1,500 years of Shia Islam. Which betrays your utter ignorance.
THere are 8-billion people in the world. And you boast about the millions who understand the necessity of Zionism. In fact, a tiny fraction of the people of the world know or care about Zionism. Objectively and historically there is no necessity of Zionism. It is a political ideology like hundreds of others. When Israel’s fascist theocratic state disintegrates, Zionism will become just another historical construct. While the Diaspora will survive and flourish.
Not quite. It’s a mission for Jewish values of tolerance, peace and justice. It’s a denunciation of pseudo-Judaism worshipping stones and bones, rather than the normative traditions developed in the Diaspora.
Israel has never in its entire history been a “passive victim.” It has always been an aggressor, a thief, a liar, a deceiver. Throughout its history. Zionism too has been all of things and more. Whatever ideas or values it espoused to protect the Jewish people have long since faded into ancient history.
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