As protests flare across Iran, driven by economic distress, political repression, and generational anger, Tehran’s leadership is responding not only to unrest on its streets but also to signals emanating from Washington and Tel Aviv—signals that revive memories of past foreign intervention and sharpen fears of regime change.

The demonstrations have led to over 2,000 deaths and a storm of support and defiance on social media, but they themselves are widely assessed as organic, rooted in domestic grievances. Yet the international response has added a geopolitical charge. Statements from US and Israeli leaders, while framed as support for human rights and democratic aspirations, have gone further than neutral diplomacy, feeding Iranian suspicions that the unrest is being watched—and possibly welcomed—as a strategic opening.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been especially direct. In repeated public addresses and social media messages, he has praised Iranian protesters and framed their struggle in moral and civilisational terms. “The brave people of Iran are standing up for........

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