Intel Minister: Over 50 Foreign Spy Agencies Tried to Destabilize Iran

Date: 22 October 2025 - 21:53

News ID: ۱۴۴۹۵۴

TEHRAN — Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib on Wednesday said more than 50 foreign intelligence services mounted coordinated efforts to destabilize Iran, and described recent regional violence and diplomatic pressure as part of a broad campaign that Tehran successfully resisted.

Speaking during an official visit to the southwestern province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Khatib said those external intelligence operations included organized media campaigns, attempts to mobilize extremists released from Syria and Afghanistan, and “soft” or covert warfare designed to erode public trust and create political division.

“The enemy used all media capacities of the world to promote Iranophobia, revolution-phobia and Shia-phobia,” Khatib said. “They designed a wide destabilization plan and tried to send terrorists and takfiris to the Islamic Republic.”

Khatib said the foreign efforts culminated in a hybrid campaign during the recent 12-day conflict with Israel — an episode he described as a combined, multifront assault using advanced military technologies and information warfare.

He credited the leadership of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the cohesion of the armed forces and popular support for averting the worst outcomes and preserving domestic security.

The minister said Iran’s military resilience, missile capabilities and nationwide unity exposed the failure of those foreign operations and led to a historic victory against the aggressors. He added that the role of Iran’s security services and “anonymous soldiers of the Imam of the Time” was central to that outcome.

Khatib criticized international efforts to isolate Iran politically, saying the United States and Israel are backing violence in Gaza, Syria and Lebanon and attempting to portray legitimate resistance movements as terrorists.

He dismissed recent U.S. calls for negotiations as insincere, saying Washington’s approach stemmed from hostility rather than a desire to secure Iranian national interests.