Turkey FM's Bizarre Charge: Mossad as Puppet-Master of Iran's Unrest, and Netanyahu's Supposed Hunger for Regional War

Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan has lately taken to the airwaves with a series of grave accusations against Israel, delivered in the measured yet insistent tone that has become his trademark. In an extended interview with Turkish television, he addressed the unfolding protests in Iran and the wider regional tensions they have exacerbated, directing his sharpest criticism at Jerusalem.

The minister contended that Israel, far from concealing its hand, is openly exploiting Iran’s internal difficulties, economic hardship above all, to undermine the Islamic Republic. "The Mossad is not hiding this," Fidan declared, referring to the protests. "They are calling on the Iranian people to rise up against the regime through their internet and Twitter accounts."

He drew a pointed contrast with earlier episodes of overt military confrontation, which, he observed, had the effect of rallying the Iranian public against external enemies. The present moment, he suggested, offers Israel a different and more insidious opportunity: to fan the flames of domestic discontent in the absence of active warfare.

Fidan went further, asserting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu harbors a keen desire to ignite a broader military conflict across the region, though only, he insisted, with the explicit blessing of the United States. "Everyone knows Netanyahu has such a desire; it's no secret," the foreign minister said. He alleged that no such adventure would proceed without firm guarantees from Washington, and pointed to Netanyahu's late-December visit to the White House as part of an ongoing effort to secure that all-important "green light."

Turning to the deeper causes of unrest within Iran, Fidan acknowledged the punishing weight of economic sanctions endured for nearly three decades, a burden he described as severe and structural. The Iranian people, he noted, especially the younger generations, are dynamic and sophisticated, hungry for prosperity and opportunity. Yet the sanctions have imposed formidable obstacles, fueling recurring waves of protest, from the mass demonstrations of 2019 and 2023 to the more contained disturbances of today. While these grievances are genuine, he argued, they are now being manipulated by Iran’s adversaries.

"Alongside the authentic reasons for protest, there is clear external manipulation by Iran's adversaries," he said.

On the diplomatic plane, Fidan positioned Turkey as a proponent of dialogue, intent on shielding Iranian civilians from harm and urging negotiations to ease tensions between Tehran, Washington, and other Western capitals. He warned that the imposition of preconditions on talks serves only to isolate Iran further, while conveniently furnishing justification for potential Israeli military action. A negotiated settlement, he maintained, is essential for regional stability, and would strip away what he termed the "international cover" for any strike by Israel.

In closing, the minister conveyed a message from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Iran's leadership, calling on Tehran to turn the page in its relations with neighboring Arab states, to engage them with "genuine and sincere" intent, to set aside past grievances, and to shoulder its responsibilities toward the peoples of the region. He urged Iran to consider the possibilities of shared leadership in securing a more stable Middle East.

For his part, Israeli military analyst Alon Ben-David, writing recently in Maariv, took a cooler view of the Mossad's public interventions. He noted that a Persian-language account linked to the agency had tweeted at the outset of the unrest: "We are with you, the protesters, everywhere."

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Later, the same account asserted that "thousands of activists in the Basij militia and security forces have joined the protesters," a claim subsequently deleted. Ben-David attributed these messages to the Mossad's psychological operations unit, now under the deputy director identified only as "A," a former contender for the agency's top position. He judged the tweets a display of poor judgment, with the deletion suggesting at least some internal second thoughts. Israel, he concluded, would do better to conduct itself with greater discretion. "The Mossad would be better served by operating more discreetly and tweeting less."

Such restraint, one might observe, appears increasingly elusive in the fevered atmosphere of the contemporary Middle East.

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