Growing concern and an increasingly intense public debate are emerging across the Arab world over estimates of the extent of Israeli intelligence penetration within Iran’s power structure, with analysts and commentators describing it as unprecedented.
The reaction has not gone unnoticed in Israel.
Senior Al Jazeera journalist Ahmed Mansour said the reported infiltration of Iranian state structures by Israeli intelligence services is “without precedent in the history of conflicts”. He argued that Israel appears not only capable of accessing the highest levels of command and carrying out targeted killings, but also of confirming successful operations before Iranian authorities themselves — often with a noticeable delay from Tehran.
Spies 'in every corner of Iran'
Mansour described what he characterised as a widespread intelligence presence, suggesting that “Israeli spies appear to be in every corner of the country”. He also warned that the phenomenon may not be limited to Iran alone, but could extend to other states in the region — something he described as a “major disaster”.
In the same context, political analyst and columnist Nidal al-Saba said the central issue is not the attacks themselves, but how Israel managed to gain access to the most sensitive layers of Iran’s political and military apparatus.
He described the development as the result of deep, long-term infiltration, built gradually over a number of years rather than achieved in a single phase.
According to al-Saba, Tehran may have failed to fully absorb the lessons of past setbacks — particularly in Syria — thereby allowing Israel to establish an extensive intelligence network over time.
Striking Iranian morale
Meanwhile, a report by the Wall Street Journal suggests that a key objective of Israeli operations is to create conditions that could lead to internal destabilisation of the Iranian regime. According to the report, targeted strikes and the elimination of senior figures form part of a broader strategy aimed at gradually weakening Iran’s security apparatus.
The same report refers to the extensive use of precise intelligence and large-scale strikes against thousands of targets, resulting in significant losses among Iranian personnel. It also notes an impact on morale within Iranian forces, with reports of redeployments, concealment efforts and heightened fear among officials.
Analysts conclude that the apparent scale of the alleged infiltration, and its consequences, could have a decisive impact on the regional balance in the period ahead.