Israel seeks to harvest Iran’s domestic unrest

n December 29, Israeli Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu visited the US to brief President Donald Trump on Iran's rebuilding of its missile capabilities after June 2025.

- Deepika Saraswat

Given that ‘Trump has repeatedly declared the Iranian nuclear issue a “closed case”, Netanyahu is seeking US support for an offensive against Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities. This comes ata time when the sharp depreciation of the Iranian rial sparked protests among merchants, which quickly turned into broader protests reflecting widespread frustration with the economic crisis after the snapback of the previously lifted UN sanctions in August 2025.Froma defensive posture aimed at containing threats, Israel has used the politics of insecurity, its superior military and intelligence capabilities, and US backing to maintain a sustained offensive initiative to eliminate the threat posed by Iran and its network of allies. Having demonstrated near-complete freedom to operate militarily over Iran, Israel seeks to realise its long-term objective of structurally dismantling Iran's military capabilities through military operations. Israeli leaders are keen to use the unrest in Iran to bring about internal collapse or regime change. Ata time when popula