Israel’s former defence minister Yoav Gallant said Israel should quietly influence Iran’s protests, urging what he described as an “invisible hand” approach as unrest grips the country.
“At this time, when what matters is the action of the masses on the ground, we need to stay behind and direct things with an invisible hand,” Gallant said in an interview with Israeli Army Radio published on Tuesday.
“The regime in Iran needs to fall, and we need to exercise strategic patience, but to be active when necessary,” he said.
Gallant, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes in Gaza, made the comments as Iran faces nationwide protests triggered by economic hardship and political grievances.
Despite years of sanctions and external pressure, observers say there are still no clear signs of fractures within Iran’s security elite that could threaten the survival of the Islamic Republic.
Iran built its security system first and foremost to protect the regime, not just the state. After 1979, it created parallel, overlapping institutions (especially the IRGC and Basij) that are ideologically loyal to the Supreme Leader, so there’s no single point of failure.
It combines heavy internal surveillance and rapid repression with an asymmetric strategy abroad—using regional proxies to deter attacks and keep conflicts away from Iran itself. Constant external pressure is then framed as an existential threat, which justifies repression, maintains elite cohesion, and turns sanctions and covert attacks into a “resistance” narrative rather than a collapse trigger.
