Israel 'counted' on post-vote protests in Iran

Months after the post-vote unrest in Iran, the Israeli military intelligence chief says Tel Aviv had counted on anti-Islamic Republic protests to achieve its long-sought goals.

Speaking at the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies, Amos Yadlin said one of the outcomes of the post-vote turmoil in Iran is that the notion of "an exemplary regime [in Iran] has been shattered."

The Israeli intelligence chief, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the turn of events in Iran, saying, "The bad news is that the Iranian regime has managed to stop the protest for now."

"This protest does not have a classic leadership which is capable of collapsing regimes, as leaders of the protest movements are still the regime's own flesh and blood," Yadlin added.

The report of Israel's unwavering support for creating tensions in Iran comes as earlier in December, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the United States to use the power of the Internet and online social networking websites to counter the Islamic Republic.

"Using the power of the Internet and of Twitter against the Iranian regime is a tremendous thing that the United States can do," Netanyahu told the Israeli parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee.