Beni Sabti, an Iran expert at the Institute for National Security Studies, assesses in a conversation with Arutz Sheva - Israel National News that even if Iran responds to an Israeli attack on its territory - Israel should give a stronger counter-response since the regime in Tehran is weak.
"The Iranians did not want to be deeply involved but the 7th of October gave them a sense that they could do more. Slowly they got more involved in the war. In their eyes Israel is stuck in some kind of quagmire and so they can exact comeuppance. Here too there is the effect of escalation. After the first attack they went for a second and they can do it again. Hezbollah has lost power and Iran has been forced to intervene itself, and this is very bad for it," he explains.
"It may cause us short-term difficulty, but in the long run, if we hold firm and do not let up and continue to respond, we may reach the end of the Iranian regime and all its tentacles."
Sabti responds to the news report that a suspect in espionage for Iran was following a researcher at the institute where he works: "There is no doubt that this is a well-known method. Researchers, knowledge, and science people are always prey to the subject of espionage, to turn them into spies or targets. Israel is a very academic country and therefore everyone should pay attention to this. The research institutes in this small country are researching the issues of the day, and when these issues have been hot topics in the past year around the war, Iran and the axis that opposes Israel and the West, they have made research institutes, academia, and scientists targets for such attacks."
"The fact that there are more spy cases is because of the last year. The Iranians are under pressure, they need more intelligence and are activating their dormant cells. Our intelligence services notice, and then it is possible to hunt down those spies," he adds.
Sabti also speaks of the Iranian persuasion method. "The Iranians operate by a method of escalation. It's not that they are directed to big missions all at once. They are always looking for people who are not so connected to the character and values of the State and who don't always get along with it on this or that issue. Those who had not enlisted in the army, for example, those who had not been paid or had been offended by something."
"They open many Facebook or Instagram pages under some pretext calling for complaints against the country's injustices and people write about it. They take a convenient target for themselves, see someone who complains more, embrace him, give him a very small task like photographing a museum or an archaeological site and from there it begins. They lure you slowly into taking pictures of bases and suchlike. Sometimes, at first, you don't even know that you are dealing with Iranians, and sometimes you do. The recruits lie to themselves and say, just like drug addiction, I can stop it whenever I want. That's not true. When large sums of money are flowing in, you can't stop. It's a sign of moral decay."
He also cautions users not to be tempted by the type of Facebook page he mentioned. "Do not be tempted by any page that complains about something. We, unfortunately, are stuck in a rift between us and that is what fuels the continuation of the missiles and rockets of Hezbollah. We should not give an answer to these pages, not be tempted or comment on them because it makes people targets. Therefore, put aside the disunity, and think what any such response might do to us. Better to deal with the complaints to the proper authority and not allow such exploitation of our weakness by foreign elements."