Iran has arrested hundreds of people on espionage charges since June, with at least 28 people arrested in Tehran alone during the initial days of the conflict. Officials within the IRGC are reportedly taking extreme measures to prove their loyalty, while longstanding disputes between security agencies have escalated into revenge-driven accusations, The Telegraph reports. Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib admitted in July 2025 that infiltration remains a critical problem despite previous claims of dismantling spy networks.
According to sources who spoke with The Telegraph, Iranian officials now face a dangerous situation where distinguishing genuine loyalty from Israeli infiltration has become nearly impossible. One senior Iranian official told The Telegraph: "Many officials, including within the Sepah [IRGC], are doing everything they can to convince the system that they haven't done anything wrong, since it's obvious to everyone now that the Israelis have massively infiltrated several agencies."
Officials fear Israeli agents embedded within security services may be filing false accusations to eliminate loyal personnel. An Iranian official interviewed by The Telegraph explained: "Trust is one issue, but what's becoming an even greater concern is the growing number of people who are, in one way or another, betraying the system."
The twelve-day Iran-Israel war in June 2025 exposed extensive Israeli Mossad penetration of Iran's security apparatus. Israel's operation killed several top IRGC commanders, including IRGC chief Hossein Salami and armed forces chief Mohammed Bagheri, demonstrating the depth of intelligence infiltration. Iranian officials now face growing paranoia as they struggle to distinguish genuine threats from false accusations designed to remove loyal insiders.
Iran has reached record execution levels in 2025, with over 1,000 people executed by September – the highest figure in at least 15 years, The Telegraph reports. The death of Omid Sarlak in November, whose bullet-riddled body was found hours after he posted a video burning Supreme Leader Khamenei's image, sparked widespread protests with mourners chanting "Death to Khamenei" and burning images of the leader.
Iran faces its worst drought in decades, with the Amir Kabir dam northwest of Tehran at only 8% capacity. Rainfall has decreased by 89% compared to long-term averages, and the number of dams below 5% capacity has increased from 8 to 32, The Telegraph reports. President Masoud Pezeshkian warned that Tehran residents may need to evacuate by mid-December if conditions don't improve. Severe air pollution has forced school closures across multiple cities.
Despite these challenges, experts assess that the regime remains stable, largely due to nationalist sentiment generated during the war with Israel. However, Iran faces increasing international isolation following the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal and reimposition of UN sanctions. The regime has begun emphasizing ancient Persian Empire imagery rather than revolutionary Islamic messaging to rally public support, as evidenced by the installation of a replica of a 1,700-year-old relief sculpture in central Tehran depicting Roman Emperor Valerian kneeling before Persian King Shapur I with the message, "You will kneel before Iran again," The Telegraph reports.
Public dissatisfaction with conditions in Iran has reached 92% according to polling conducted for the president's office, The Telegraph reports. The combination of intelligence failures, environmental crises, economic pressures, and domestic repression creates a volatile situation, though the regime's security apparatus remains capable of suppressing dissent through mass arrests and executions.
