PM Netanyahu keeps mum on Iran protests as regime tries to blame Israel & US for uprisings

As the massive protests against the regime in Iran entered their fifth day, the regime’s media has started to blame the situation on “troublemakers” within and outside the country, particularly Israel and the U.S., according to a report by Israel’s Channel 12.

Meanwhile, several Israeli officials as well as the Foreign Ministry’s 𝕏 account have expressed strong support for the uprising.

However, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far uncharacteristically declined from publicly commenting on the demonstrations.

Channel 12 reported Wednesday that this was a conscious decision to deprive the Islamic Republic of an opportunity to either blame Israel or possibly target the country militarily to distract from the protests and the rough economic situation.

The sixth anniversary of the killing of IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani by the U.S., which is coming up this Saturday, could provide the regime with such a pretext.

همه چشم‌ها به ایران است.
شما تنها نیستید. pic.twitter.com/wJDbqkYZY9

— اسرائیل به فارسی (@IsraelPersian) December 31, 2025

“We’re watching dramatic domestic events in Iran, but it’s too early to tell what the ramifications will be,” a senior Israeli official told Channel 12.

Despite the lack of comments by senior officials in Israel, Iranian regime-affiliated media didn’t lose time in trying to blame Jerusalem and Washington for the protests, which are the largest since the Mahsa Amini protests in 2022.

Channel 12 cited the newspaper Kayhan, which published an article titled, “The Chaos Project Did Not Take Off – The People Rejected the Israeli and American Puppets.”

“The Iranian society, with its awareness and insight, knows well the difference between protest and chaos and does not allow economic demands to become a tool for undermining stability in the country,” the article read.

The protests were started by shopkeepers and merchants protesting against inflation and the general economic situation, however, students and young people have joined the demonstrations across the country.

“The enemy’s objective at this point in time was clear. A multi-stage scenario was planned, whose starting point was bringing the bazaar merchants into the protest arena. The bazaar, as a historical and economic symbol, has always been attractive to those planning instability. Their calculation was that if the market ignited, the wave of protest would spread to other social strata.”

However, Kayhan wrote that the regime had already effectively defeated the protests: “What thwarted the enemy’s scenario was a combination of national vigilance and on-the-ground management. The chaos project failed this time as well. The people and the merchants rejected the enemy and its puppets and showed that Iran is not a playground designed in Tel Aviv and New York.”

آن روزشمار نابودی که برای اسرائیل زده بودند، اکنون برای خودشان به کار افتاده. pic.twitter.com/FcpeZN7b2c

— اسرائیل به فارسی (@IsraelPersian) January 1, 2026

The Vatan-e Emrooz newspaper published a headline reading, “The Role of the Zionist Regime Was Prominent.”

In the article, the author argued that “Immediately after the protests began, the opposition, exiles, and their foreign supporters entered the scene and tried to turn this internal dissatisfaction into an opportunity to create insecurity and chaos against the government.”

“This recurring pattern, which has also been observed in previous years, points to a calculated strategy by the United States – and especially the Zionist regime – to turn any internal protest in Iran into a tool of pressure and destabilization.”

“For example, the U.S. State Department’s Persian-language account and the Mossad’s Persian-language account encouraged the protesters with a provocative message, writing: ‘We are with you – not only from afar, but also on the ground.’”

The Persian-language account of Israel’s Foreign Ministry has consistently posted in support of the protest since their start.

On Thursday, one post read, “The people of Iran are today in the streets with a resounding voice.”

“There are hundreds of reasons, including the fact that they do not want this government, a government that poured their money down the throats of the terrorists of Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, and dragged their economy to the depths of destruction for nuclear ambitions. The people of Iran deserve better than this.”