As Iran’s regime violently cracks down on unrest at home, Tehran is accelerating a quieter campaign abroad. Experts tell The Press Service of Israel that Iran is increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to supercharge covert influence operations targeting Israel and Western societies, reshaping how disinformation and manipulation are carried out.

For years, Iran has relied on fake online personas, coordinated social media activity, and low-cost psychological pressure. What is changing, analysts warned TPS-IL, is the toolset. Artificial intelligence enables Iranian actors to imitate real people more convincingly, operate across languages fluently, and push narratives at a scale and speed previously difficult to sustain.

The concern is not only technological but strategic. Iran’s expanding use of AI in covert influence campaigns comes amid weeks of internal instability. As the regime suppresses widespread anti-government protests, Tehran is formalizing AI as a national strategic priority. That convergence, analysts warned, could significantly increase the long-term threat to democratic societies.