TEHRAN -- Iran’s intelligence minister on Thursday said the United States and Israel orchestrated a multi-faceted campaign to destabilize Iran during the June conflict, involving the use of extremist groups and advanced military technology — efforts he said ultimately failed.
Speaking at a meeting in the western province of Hamadan, Esmail Khatib said the enemies attempted to incite Daesh militants and other takfiri terrorists in Syria to infiltrate Iran and carry out assassinations, sabotage, and terror attacks.
“In this hybrid war, the enemies, by inciting takfiris and Daesh from Syria and sending them towards Iran and the southeast, aimed at creating insecurity through terror and sabotage, which they failed to achieve,” Khatib said.
The hostile powers, he said, sought to install a “puppet government” in Iran and block diplomatic progress, aiming to fracture the country into smaller states by exploiting domestic dissent and unrest.
“Contrary to the regime’s expectations, the outcome was unity, solidarity, and empathy among the Iranian people,” he said, urging vigilance to maintain national cohesion amid external attempts to sow division.
The minister said Israel is experiencing unprecedented internal instability, citing recent military setbacks, including the Al-Aqsa Flood operation, Hezbollah’s activities, and Iranian missile strikes, which he said revealed vulnerabilities within the “despicable Zionist regime.”
Khatib also criticized Western nations that “claim to champion human rights” but are responsible, in his view, for creating crises in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and Syria. He condemned the suppression of pro-Palestinian voices abroad, referencing expulsions from the United States and other countries.