Iran’s highest military leadership on Tuesday leveled explosive allegations against Washington and Tel Aviv, accusing the two allies of infiltrating ISIS (Daesh) fighters into the country to stoke domestic chaos and target security forces.
Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, claimed that the deployment of “mercenaries” followed the perceived failure of a “12-day war” waged against the Islamic Republic last year. The general’s remarks, carried by the semi-official Tasnim News Agency, frame the current nationwide unrest as a foreign-orchestrated “hybrid war.”
The accusations surface at a time of extreme vulnerability for the clerical establishment. Anti-government protests have swept through all 31 provinces, ignited by a catastrophic plunge in the national currency. The Iranian rial recently hit a record low of 145,000 to the U.S. dollar, a collapse that has effectively priced basic food and medicine out of reach for millions.
“Iran will not tolerate any violation of its sovereignty or territorial integrity,” Mousavi said. While he maintained that security forces have shown “restraint,” he warned that the military would not allow “terrorist elements” to operate freely in the streets under the guise of civil dissent.
Neither the United States nor Israel has issued a formal response to the claims. Historically, Tehran has often attributed domestic upheaval to external sabotage, though the explicit mention of ISIS cells marks a significant escalation in the state’s narrative.
The human cost of the standoff continues to climb. While Tehran has yet to release a comprehensive official count, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported on Tuesday that the verified death toll has reached at least 2,000. This includes over 1,800 protesters and 135 members of the security forces.
Independent verification remains nearly impossible. A sweeping internet blackout has shrouded much of the country, leaving families to rely on intermittent satellite signals and smuggled footage to document the violence.
International observers remain wary. On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump warned of a 25% tariff on any nation trading with Iran, a move that appears to have ended any immediate hope for a diplomatic resolution.
As the sun sets over a tense Tehran, the streets remain a battleground of competing realities: a government fighting what it calls “foreign terrorists,” and a population desperate for economic relief.
