In 2009, a young official from the US Department of State visited Tehran. At that time, Iran was in ferment. Ahmadinejad was the President of the Islamic nation—a principlist and conservative leader who viscerally hated the US and the West.

The young official, Jared Cohen, realized that Iranian youth were managing to evade the religious police, the Basij, and the Pasdaran by using messaging platforms that could not be intercepted by the watchful eyes of those running the surveillance state. Cohen, it is learnt, also discovered that those coordinating the large protests of 2009 were using Twitter (now X).

A myth has since been created around the impact of his presence on the protests. As the story goes, the White House cajoled Twitter to postpone its planned maintenance by a few days in order to stoke unrest. It is a different matter that the Iranians soon got a sense of what the Americans were up to and shut down the internet. This tough step taken by the Iranian authorities took the wind out of the protesters’ sails, and the streets quietened down again.

The truth discovered later was different. At that time, internet penetration in Iran was low, and public disquiet was fuelled largely by traditional television networks that were not impacted by the shutdown of Twitter. However, the myth of Twitter delaying its maintenance continues to prosper in different variations.

Though no one today speaks of the reach of Twitter or X, law enforcement agencies in Iran still believe that much of the mischief infused into the country comes from the internet and its various avatars. This time, the provocation was allegedly triggered by Elon Musk’s Starlink, which enables internet access and satellite phones in different parts of the country.

Starlink is resented by authoritarian regimes. In Iran too, it is banned, but those using it to infiltrate social media and spread subversive messages reportedly managed to smuggle it into the country. Iran claims this was an operation perfected by Israel-trained terrorists who first stoked instability and then used Starlink to stay in touch with their terrorist networks. Iranian authorities claim that hundreds of their police personnel were killed by them.

There is no independent verification of these Iranian allegations, but it is true that an inordinate number of security personnel have died during the civil disturbances. Iranian police claim to have brought the turbulent situation under control, arresting and killing many of those responsible for stirring trouble.

The big question is: is the Iranian government safe from US intervention?

Unlikely. Over the last few weeks, China and Russia have reportedly ferried tonnes of weapons to a harassed Iran, equipping it to fight US special forces should they dare to attack Tehran.

Despite the beefing up of Iran’s defences and Tehran’s promise to blow up US bases in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain, there is nothing to suggest that Donald Trump is backing off. Analysts are quick to remind observers that after the extraordinary operation to pick up President Maduro from Caracas, Venezuela, an impression was created that the US would never touch Maduro. That impression proved fallacious.

Despite Cuban commandos providing proximate security to Maduro and Russian anti-missile systems protecting Caracas skies, American special forces reportedly rammed through the protective wall surrounding Maduro and took him away. The operation displayed extraordinary prowess by US forces and put the fear of God into Chinese and Russian governments. The message was loud and clear: if the US wants to pluck out an anti-US leader, nothing can save him or her—except the deterrence of nuclear weapons.

Iran is not a nuclear power, and skirmishes last year reportedly destroyed Iran’s chances of nuclear retaliation in the event of an attack. The US is said to have used bunker-buster bombs to destroy Iran’s nuclear installations. Washington also knows which threats are idle and which are real.

All this suggests that the US will not back off from its commitment to Israel to remove Iran’s Shia clergy that rules the country. Though Iran is not Venezuela, the US possesses overwhelming and sophisticated firepower capable of snuffing out any challenge from the West Asian power.

As an expert on Iranian affairs told this writer, “Every move of US President Donald Trump is a distraction from what he really wants to do.”

(Cover Image: Demonstrator during the 2025–2026 Iranian protests silhouetted against a street fire proudly waving the Lion and Sun flag of Iran. Credit: commons.wikimedia)

About The Author:

SANJAY KAPOOR is a senior journalist based in Delhi. He is a foreign policy specialist with a focus on India, its neighbourhood, and West Asia. He is the Founder and Editor of Hardnews magazine. He is the President of the Editors’ Guild of India (EGI) and, until recently, served as its General Secretary.

AhmadinejadAli Hosseini KhameneiChinaDigital MythsDonald TrumpHeistinternet mythsIranJared CohenNicolás MaduroPolitical CrisisPoliticsProtestRussiaStarlinktehranTwitterUSA