Inside Iran: How the People May Be the Biggest Threat to the Regime Amid Operation Rising Lion
June 13, 2025 As the world watches the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, a surprising—and perhaps decisive—force is emerging not on the battlefield, but within Iran’s own borders: its people.
For decades, the Islamic Republic of Iran has projected power through the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), nuclear posturing, and regional militancy. But beneath that surface lies a deeply disillusioned population, weary of economic hardship, repression, and the aggressive foreign policy that has led them into international isolation and now, direct military confrontation.
Voices of the Iranian People: A Boiling Resentment
From Tehran to Tabriz, Shiraz to Isfahan, young Iranians and working-class citizens have been openly expressing frustration at a regime they view as corrupt, unaccountable, and disconnected from the everyday reality of life in Iran.
“We don’t want war. We don’t want nuclear bombs. We want freedom and food,” said a 28-year-old engineer in Esfahan in a now-deleted video on social media after the Israeli strikes.
Following the killing of IRGC chief Hossein Salami and other top regime officials in Israel’s Operation Rising Lion, hashtags such as #NoToTheIslamicRepublic and #OurRealEnemyIsAtHome trended across Iranian social platforms—even under heavy censorship. Some citizens took to rooftops chanting “Death to the dictator,” echoing a haunting call heard during past protest waves in 2009, 2017, and 2022.
Israel’s Strategic Success: Fueled by Internal Discontent
The precision and scale of Operation Rising Lion—which struck over 100 military and nuclear targets, decapitated top leadership, and penetrated deeply into Iranian airspace—has stunned analysts. But according to multiple intelligence sources and analysts, internal cooperation from disaffected Iranians was essential.
“No foreign operation of this scale and precision could have been pulled off without human intelligence from the inside,” said a retired Mossad officer to Yedioth Ahronoth. “The regime has many enemies, and many of them are Iranian.”
These informants are not foreign agents or exiles—they are ordinary Iranians. Disillusioned scientists, conscripted soldiers, mid-level bureaucrats, and airport workers frustrated by years of lies, economic collapse, and regime brutality. In short, Israel’s greatest ally in this conflict may be the Iranian public itself.
A Regime in Decline?
Iran’s economy has been battered by years of sanctions and mismanagement. The average Iranian earns less than $200 per month in real terms, while billions are spent on nuclear enrichment, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and proxy wars across Iraq, Yemen, and Syria.
The Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei—now 86 and rumored to be ill—remains an unaccountable symbol of a theocratic system that many Iranians, especially those under 40, see as completely illegitimate.
Recent Israeli strikes that decimated military command centers, research facilities, and missile depots are not being mourned by many civilians.
“Let them fall,” said a Tehran student on Telegram. “If they fall, maybe we can finally breathe.”
A Turning Point?
Israel’s success with Operation Rising Lion may mark not just a military victory, but a psychological shift. The invincibility of the Iranian regime has been shattered, and the people see the cracks. Now, millions of Iranians are talking not just about survival, but about the possibility of change.
In a way, this moment echoes 1989 in Eastern Europe—when decades of dictatorship were swept away not by foreign invasion, but by internal awakening, aided by external courage.
If this sentiment continues to grow—and is strategically supported by democratic nations—the real regime change in Iran may not come from war, but from within.
Conclusion
Israel’s Operation Rising Lion struck hard at Iran’s military and nuclear infrastructure. But the most powerful outcome may not be the destruction of missiles or centrifuges—but the ignition of hope among a long-silenced people. As chants rise across Iranian rooftops and fear turns to defiance, the real question isn’t whether the regime can survive this war—but whether it can survive its own people.
Sources:
Reuters, “Iranians express outrage at regime’s response to Israel strikes,” June 13, 2025
The Guardian, “Inside Iran as war erupts: Civilians caught between fear and fury,” June 13, 2025
Yedioth Ahronoth, “Intelligence reports reveal local assistance in Israeli strike planning,” June 12, 2025
BBC Persian, citizen interviews (translated excerpts), June 13, 2025
Iranian opposition Telegram channels: MehsaNet, IranNow, IranWatch (archived posts)
