Probing Pentagon’s role in Iran’s riots
Orchestrating last year’s riots in Iran was unprecedented for the United States. All the plans designed during the riots were a sign of a major and multi-layered project against Iran. According to reports, the Pentagon had considered the overthrow of the Establishment as attainable in the short term, especially after the project was entrusted to the United States Central Command in the region (CENTCOM). What caused the riots to become more complicated was the use of modern technologies, especially artificial intelligence, to guide people to take measures ranging from operational actions to suicides, especially by girls and teenagers. However, the dimensions of the measures have not been well analyzed so far. Despite the analyses done by Western think tanks, the Pentagon believed that the collapse of the Establishment in Iran was attainable – the issue that caused the US to interfere in Iran’s internal affairs with all its strength.
The brainstorming meetings about Iran had always been held in the US State Department and the CIA headquarters, but in a very rare move, before the riots in Iran, for the first time, the meetings were transferred to the Pentagon. Before setting up a new desk on Iran, the Pentagon had created two media desks to work on developments in China and Russia years ago. The Iran Media Desk was created in May 2022. According to a 2020 Pentagon report given to the US former president, Donald Trump, the country removed the military option from its agenda due to its high cost; instead, they proposed the establishment of a war media think tank to the US president, which also faced opposition from Trump, who did not believe in creating regime change in Iran. But after the beginning of Joe Biden’s tenure, the plan was again put on the Pentagon’s agenda.
Pentagon’s think tank
The Pentagon think tank had compared Iran’s situation to a situation between the former Soviet Union and the former Yugoslavia, but this was in contradiction with the report of Western think tanks.
Western think tanks announced in May 2022 that a media campaign against Iran cannot bring the Establishment to its knees, as it is impossible to infiltrate the Establishment because it has strengthened its inner circle over the years. Dismantling this inner circle will pave the way for toppling the Establishment.
However, the Pentagon believed that the situation in Iran was such that the new government, which acts in line with the Establishment’s policies, should not be allowed to shape its policies. After reports provided by the anti-Iran Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO), separatist groups, radical reformists inside the country, and other groups on the situation in Iran, the Pentagon concluded that it was the best time to overthrow the Establishment.
The government in Iran was seeking “economic surgery and social surgery”. Therefore, if they manage to make contact between the part of the society that is dissatisfied with the economic situation, which is also part of the inner circle, and the rich who are concerned about democracy in the country, the regime will fall in a short time. The Pentagon’s think tank had collected all information about the situation in Iran, which was given to the media based on the Pentagon’s plans. The Iranian and Western media each had their function and should not interfere in each other’s affairs. The Iran case in the Pentagon was given to the head of the Iran Desk, but the operational part of the project had to be coordinated with CENTCOM. Joe Biden’s remarks last year, saying, “We are going to free Iran,” were the result of the Pentagon’s reports and its assurance to the White House about the overthrow of the Establishment in Iran.
The Pentagon has assessed that the situation in Iran is on the verge of a socio-economic revolution, and if the US misses this opportunity, it could no longer work on regime change in Iran.
The onset of the crisis in Iran was not the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman, but only the social part of the plan for the toppling of the Establishment. The government’s economic surgery was the starting point of the economic aspect of the regime change, but the Pentagon was seeking to attack the Establishment from both sides.
Taking the leadership out of the scene was put on the agenda. It should have been done through the media. Months before the riots, they encouraged people to chant slogans against the Leader.
The Pentagon had prepared different layers for its project, which should have been media-oriented. Reports by the Western media at the end of October and November 2022 presented Iran as a collapsed country. To build confidence among its operational forces inside Iran, they put the escape of the Establishment’s leaders on the media’s agenda. They also used artificial intelligence technology to counter Iran. CENTCOM, the main element of the operations in Iran, was tasked to use this technology. It commanded all the operational forces and the media.
The MKO, Kurdish separatist groups, royalists, radical Sunni movements in Sistan and Baluchestan and Kurdistan provinces, etc., all should have operated according to CENTCOM’S orders.
The leadership of American military officials in last year’s riots was the main reason behind the complexity of the events.
In August and September 2022, when Iran was preparing for Arbaeen, almost all CENTCOM’S groups inside the country were ready to carry out its order.
CENTCOM had predicted that ensuring the security of the pilgrims would exhaust the country’s security forces so that it would not create problems for its project.
As mentioned, the Pentagon had compared Iran’s situation to an era between the former Soviet Union and the former Yugoslavia, and, to deal a blow to Iran, it should be done through the media. The media could have the same effect as B-52 bombers.
Evaluating the situation in Iran about three months before the riots, the Western media introduced Mahsa Amini as the main focus. The interesting part of the issue is that Iran’s Leader had focused on the issue of women in recent years and had given the right analysis of the West’s plan for Iran. During the riots, the mainstream media of the United States, such as CNN, was in charge of swaying the world’s public opinion by broadcasting documentaries and news from Iran.
The British news agency, Reuters, was broadcasting breaking news and anti-Iranian media were responsible for swaying the public opinion inside the
country.