Will Israel's new Mossad chief carry on the push for regime change in Iran?

Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, 32, has been charged in an eight-count indictment over what US prosecutors described as his work as an operative of Tehran-backed Kata’ib Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, both designated by Washington as foreign terrorist organizations.

The Justice Department said Al-Saadi was involved in nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks across Europe and the United States, including attacks targeting Jewish and Israeli sites in London and an alleged attempt to arrange attacks on US soil.

Public court filings say Al-Saadi described close relationships with Iranian and IRGC leaders. He said he was “like a son” to Qasem Soleimani, the longtime commander of the IRGC Quds Force who was killed in a US airstrike in 2020.

According to the documents, Al-Saadi said he regularly traveled with Soleimani and was supposed to drive him to meet Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, then the leader of Kata’ib Hezbollah, on the day Soleimani and al-Muhandis were killed.

Al-Saadi also told investigators he was close to Khamenei and had met him in Iran approximately three days before the conflict began on February 28 and Khamenei was killed, the court documents said.

According to the filings, Al-Saadi was transferred to FBI custody on May 14 and taken to the United States with several electronic devices, including an Apple iPhone referred to in the documents as the “Al-Saadi Phone.”

While in FBI custody, Al-Saadi waived his Miranda rights and told US law enforcement agents he was a leader of “the resistance,” which he described as including the IRGC and its proxies, among them Kata’ib Hezbollah, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis.

He also told investigators he was responsible for media and psychological warfare against the United States, as well as strategy and military intelligence, the documents said.

Prosecutors said Al-Saadi’s phone and social media accounts contained evidence of his longstanding support for the IRGC, Kata’ib Hezbollah and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, as well as his role in planning, carrying out and promoting attacks in Europe.

The Justice Department said the phone contained videos and photos of Al-Saadi meeting with leaders of the IRGC, Kata’ib Hezbollah and the Houthis, images glorifying the IRGC and Hezbollah, and material showing him as a Kata’ib Hezbollah commander with access to machine guns and other weapons.

One video cited in the filing appears to show Al-Saadi with Soleimani and Akram Abbas al-Kabi, a US-designated terrorist described by prosecutors as one of the main IRGC Quds Force operatives in Iraq, in what appeared to be an underground operations center.

The court documents also say Al-Saadi joined FaceTime calls with attackers as some European attacks were being carried out, filmed the attacks in real time, helped create and distribute propaganda videos, and discussed the timing of attacks with a Kata’ib Hezbollah contact.

In one case, prosecutors cited a video from April 18, the day of an attack on a synagogue in London, showing Al-Saadi and several other men on a FaceTime call projected on a large screen with the logo of Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya in the background.

The filing says one man on the call instructed the attacker in English, telling him to take a lighter, “light it” and “throw the fourth one.”

The Justice Department said Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, which claimed responsibility for several attacks, was a front for Kata’ib Hezbollah and other US-designated terrorist organizations.

Al-Saadi faces charges including conspiring to provide material support to Kata’ib Hezbollah and the IRGC, conspiring to provide material support for acts of terrorism, attempted acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, conspiring to bomb a place of public use, attempted destruction of property by fire or explosives, and financing terrorism.

The charges are accusations, and Al-Saadi is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Speaking at a farewell ceremony for outgoing Mossad chief David Barnea, Netanyahu said Iran had already paid a heavy price, according to a statement form the prime minister’s office.

“The foundations of this terrorist regime in Iran have cracked. It will never return to what it was, and I tell you – it will fall in the end,” Netanyahu said.

He also warned that anyone plotting against Israel would fail and pay a heavy price.

“Let anyone who plots evil against Israel know that their schemes will fail. The price they will pay will be heavy indeed,” he said.

Netanyahu praised the Mossad as one of Israel’s major global “brands” and thanked Barnea for 30 years of service, including five years as its director.

Barnea urges regime change in Iran

The outgoing Mossad chief also said Israel should remain committed to toppling Iran’s ruling system.

Barnea said the Islamic Republic was at its weakest after the recent war and that Israel should “complete the job.”

“I believed, and I still believe, that a change in the reality in Iran by virtue of toppling the regime is a possible and achievable goal,” Barnea said.

He said such a goal would require “persistence, a cool head, and commitment to the mission.”

“This mission must remain as our top priority,” he added.

Despite the easing of restrictions, many websites, apps and online services continue to experience disruptions, slow speeds and intermittent outages.

Experts say the current wave of disruptions appears highly systematic, targeting core internet protocols that underpin everything from VPNs and video calls to websites and cloud services.

While restrictions on international internet traffic have reportedly been lifted significantly, internet quality still varies widely by province, provider and mobile operator.

Users across Iran report that connectivity remains noticeably worse than it was in the month before the war, when access had largely been restored following a 10-day shutdown triggered by nationwide unrest in January.

Many cite extremely slow connection speeds, repeated cycles of disconnection and reconnection, and severe difficulties accessing foreign websites and online services that were previously available.

Broken network environment

Rather than a return to normal internet access, many users describe what they call a “faulty” or “half-broken” network environment that imposes a more complex form of restriction and traffic manipulation.

At the same time, users and technology observers say a substantial share of DNS-based restrictions introduced during the shutdown remain active. The unresolved filters continue to disrupt email delivery, notifications, cloud services and other internet-dependent applications.

Public frustration is evident on social media and in comments posted on online news platforms.

“We have never experienced a normal, stable, and real internet at any period of time,” one user wrote in a comment on the Khabar Online news website.

Another user wrote on X that the situation had pushed many people to buy Starlink terminals or Iraqi SIM cards, while others were considering emigration. “They cut it in one go and restore it drop by drop. One can’t even be sure that this level of access will continue.”

An online poll conducted by Gadget News, while not necessarily representative of the broader population, illustrates the extent of dissatisfaction. According to the survey, 48.4% of respondents said they could access the internet but experienced low speeds and malfunctioning filtering systems. Another 26% reported effectively having access only to Iran’s national intranet.

VPN access still disrupted

Many Iranian internet users rely on Apple’s App Store and Google Play to download VPN applications that provide access to thousands of restricted websites and platforms.

Although authorities have technically removed filters blocking the app stores, users report a frustrating catch-22: network conditions often prevent VPN applications from downloading updates or functioning properly.

One user on X summed up the mood succinctly: “They want to make people get fed up and give up using the international internet.”

Core internet protocols targeted

Internet expert Vahid Farid told Gadget News that User Datagram Protocol (UDP) traffic—which underpins latency-sensitive services such as voice and video calls, online gaming and live streaming—has been almost completely disrupted.

As a result, many VPN protocols have either stopped working altogether or become highly unstable.

According to Farid, Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) traffic, which powers most websites and online services, is also experiencing persistent interference. The result is a cycle of VPN disconnections, stalled downloads and unreliable access to web services.

Farid said the apparent targeting of these protocols is effectively disabling widely available VPN tools and pushing users toward more complex and expensive alternatives, making access to the international internet both financially and technically burdensome.

Digital businesses struggle to recover

According to a report by Donya-ye Eghtesad newspaper, many digital businesses have been unable to return to normal operations because of the continuing disruptions.

Companies that depend on both domestic and foreign internet infrastructure report persistent difficulties maintaining critical services and data flows.

The restrictions have also affected search engine visibility, reducing traffic for e-commerce platforms, digital media outlets and startups that rely heavily on Google referrals.

Compounding the problem, network disruptions have interfered with the automated renewal of SSL security certificates. As a result, users are increasingly confronted with “Your connection is not private” warnings.

Industry observers say the alerts erode customer trust and further damage online businesses. Together with the broader disruptions, they reinforce a growing perception among users that while the shutdown may be over, many Iranians are still navigating a damaged version of the internet.

President Donald Trump announced Monday that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to halt attacks following a flurry of calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and intermediaries linked to the Iranian-backed group.

Hours earlier, however, Iran suspended talks with Washington, citing Israel's military operations in Lebanon and threatening to open new fronts in the conflict.

The diplomatic turmoil comes as Israel carries out its deepest military operations in Lebanon in more than two decades.

Tehran argues the operations violate the broader ceasefire framework established after the US-Iran war, while critics counter that Iran helped create the crisis by insisting Lebanon be included in ceasefire discussions and then backing Hezbollah attacks that prompted Israel's response.

Turning Lebanon into leverage

For some analysts, Iran's actions suggest a regime that believes it emerged from the war with more leverage than many expected.

"I fear that the Iranians are doing what they're doing because they feel that they have the upper hand," Yaakov Katz, an Israeli-American journalist and author of While Israel Slept, told Iran International.

Katz said Tehran may see itself as having weathered the conflict relatively well. The regime survived, its military remains intact despite significant losses, its nuclear program remains unresolved and Washington is still negotiating with it.

From that perspective, Iran may believe it can broaden the scope of diplomacy beyond its nuclear program and force the United States to account for developments in Lebanon.

That is precisely what concerns Katz.

"It's a disaster to connect the two," he said.

If Washington accepts Lebanon as part of the negotiating framework, Katz argues, Tehran could repeatedly use Hezbollah's confrontation with Israel as leverage whenever future diplomatic disputes arise.

The concern comes as Trump balances two competing objectives: preventing a wider regional war while preserving a diplomatic path with Tehran.

On Monday, Iranian-linked media warned that Tehran could expand pressure to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another vital global shipping route, while tensions remain elevated in the Strait of Hormuz. The threats renewed concerns about global energy supplies and the economic fallout from a broader regional confrontation.

The price of Tehran's red lines

Eric Mandel, founder of the Middle East Political and Information Network, believes the Lebanon crisis, threats to maritime shipping and suspension of talks are all part of a broader Iranian strategy.

"This is a coordinated strategy that they are using," he told Iran International. "The biggest part of it is that they are looking to delay."

Mandel argues Tehran is attempting to stretch out negotiations while increasing economic and geopolitical pressure on Washington.

The goal, he says, is to test whether the Trump administration is willing to sustain a prolonged confrontation or whether concerns over oil prices, shipping disruptions and economic instability will eventually force concessions.

He believes Iran benefits from uncertainty.

"I think what Iran wants overall is to create a global recession," Mandel said.

Danny Citrinowicz of Israel's Institute for National Security Studies and former head of the Iran branch in Israeli military intelligence sees the situation somewhat differently.

While Katz and Mandel largely view Tehran's behavior through the lens of leverage and strategy, Citrinowicz argues that ideology remains a central factor.

He says Iran does not view Hezbollah, its missile arsenal and its enrichment program as bargaining chips that can simply be traded away. Rather, they are core pillars of the Islamic Republic.

"They cannot sit aside and not retaliate. That is their mentality," Citrinowicz told Iran International.

From Tehran's perspective, he argues, failing to respond to Israeli operations in Lebanon would amount to abandoning a strategic commitment to Hezbollah and undermining principles the regime considers fundamental to its survival.

That distinction may prove critical as Washington weighs its next move.

For Katz, Iran is attempting to exploit Trump's desire for a deal by transforming Lebanon into a bargaining chip. For Mandel, Tehran is deliberately prolonging the crisis to increase pressure on the United States. For Citrinowicz, Iran's actions are driven less by tactical calculations than by ideological red lines it believes it cannot abandon.

What all three agree on is that Lebanon is no longer a side issue. It has become a central test of the fragile diplomacy between Washington and Tehran.

If Trump pressures Israel to halt operations, Tehran may claim it forced Washington's hand. If he does not, Iran appears prepared to use Lebanon, Hormuz and potentially other fronts to argue that the ceasefire framework has already collapsed.

Either way, Tehran appears willing to increase the costs associated with both diplomacy and confrontation as it seeks to shape the next phase of negotiations.

Despite continued uncertainty over the outcome of the Iran-US talks, signs that some Iranians are positioning for a possible diplomatic breakthrough are emerging in markets, public debate and government-linked circles.

One of the clearest indicators has come from Iran’s real-estate market, traditionally viewed as one of the safest destinations for capital during periods of uncertainty. According to Tehran-based media, a growing number of property listings have been withdrawn in recent days.

Estate agents told local newspapers that many owners have instructed them to pause sales, believing that easing tensions and the possibility of a diplomatic opening could push prices higher. Similar behavior has been reported in parts of the rental market.

Read the full article here.