An Israeli newspaper owned by Miriam Adelson, one of Donald Trump’s most powerful financial backers, has revealed new details about a secret Mossad branch set up to conduct influence operations inside Iran, including media leaks, fake social media accounts, artificial intelligence-generated influencers and efforts to force senior Iranian officials from power.
The report was published by Israel Hayom, an Israeli newspaper owned by Adelson. Trump has credited the family with helping secure some of his most consequential decisions on Israel, including recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, relocating the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognising Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
Read: “Real men go to Tehran” — The Zion-Con fantasy of regime change in Iran
According to Israel Hayom, the secret Mossad branch was created in 2021 by Mossad chief David Barnea as part of a wider restructuring of Israel’s spy agency. The unit was tasked with destabilising Iran from within by moving beyond traditional covert operations towards psychological warfare, political manipulation and subversion that could trigger regime-change.
A senior Mossad officer identified only as “O.” said the new approach was cheaper and simpler than assassination. Describing what is effectively a Mossad kompromat operation, the Israeli agent explained that “Traditionally, the Mossad knew how to get rid of people mainly through assassinations,”. “But when there is a person who is harming you, exposing embarrassing details from his past often leads to an immediate response in which he is removed from the circle.”
