Serbian president’s invocation of a modern Operation Ajax and the 1953 script
TEHRAN – In a recent televised interview, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic issued a stark contention that the current unrest in Iran is not a purely organic domestic movement, but a calculated repetition of 20th-century regime-change tactics.
Invoking the ghosts of the Cold War, Vucic urged his audience to read All the Shah’s Men, Stephen Kinzer’s account of the 1953 CIA and MI6-orchestrated Operation Ajax that ousted Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh.
He asserted that the “same recipe” is being utilized today by the CIA and Mossad, claiming that “the wheel of history always turns back.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan bolstered this, confirming that Ankara has monitored “direct Israeli intelligence interference” in Iranian internal affairs.
Fidan stated that the Mossad has “openly intervened” in the recent events and is no longer attempting to deny its role in hijacking domestic economic grievances.
This perspective is echoed by analysts like Hamid Dabashi of Columbia University, who argued that Israel instigated the violence to divert international scrutiny from its military operations in Gaza.
Dabashi specifically pointed to the presence of Israeli flags and alleged Mossad agents “hiding among demonstrators” as evidence of a coordinated effort to destabilize Tehran.
The case for foreign orchestration was also inflamed by former State Secretary and CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who published a social media post wishing success to “every Mossad agent walking beside” the Iranian rioters.
Israeli journalist Zvi Yehezkeli suggested that the “well-produced” nature of the protest materials betrays professional guidance from foreign intelligence services.
These observations align with assertions from the Iranian government, which has characterized the unrest as a “hybrid war” launched by Washington and Tel Aviv in the wake of their June 2025 military setbacks.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, condemned the U.S. and allied foreign actors for orchestrating the recent unrest—encouraging rioters, importing armed agents, and causing widespread destruction of mosques, schools, and public infrastructure.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi cited evidence of a “big hand” in the supply of weaponry and logistics, while security investigations reportedly identified the involvement of up to 20 foreign intelligence agencies.
Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh stated that fixed financial rates were assigned to various acts of violence, underscoring the organized and profit-driven character of the destruction that swept through cities across Iran.
What began as a gathering at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar over inflation and currency devaluation rapidly transformed into clashes in certain cities across the country.
The human cost became staggering, with a few thousand deaths recorded.