TEHRAN – In an interview aired Friday night, Home Minister Escandar Momeni announced that Iranian law enforcement forces have been the main target of Tel Aviv’s 12-day war in Tehran.
Momeni emphasized that focusing on enemy police stations was hopelessly exposed to Iran after failing to achieve unprecedented military targets in traditional wars.
“The enemy attacked the police centres with unparalleled hatred as our troops hindered their plot to cause social unrest,” Momeni said.
The minister’s statement on Tel Aviv’s failure to destroy the structure of Iranian society was highlighted on Saturday at a funeral home in Tehran, where over a million people lamented war martyrs, including IRGC commanders, nuclear scientists and citizens.
“In most wars, the police are the last time they are targeted. After military lands and civilians,” Momeni said. “But here they were the first ones.”
He detailed that the first strike intentionally targeted the Tehran Metropolitan Police Command (Police 110), followed by the Central and Preventive Police Force. The change, he argued, was intended to paralyze public safety infrastructure.
Analysts argue that police targets of the Israeli regime are essential to a broader “change of administration” strategy.
Even Israeli neoconservative think tanks like the War Institute (ISW) have said that Israel’s strikes against internal security agencies, like Iran’s Law Enforcement Commander (LEC), are “intended to show a credible threat to the stability of the regime.”
Momeni said the plot was attributed to a failure to unite the nation, and “recognized it as being about national security, not internal conflict.”
He cited public cooperation with checkpoints and economic stability, which civilians avoided hoarding and price gouging, as evidence of solidarity.
The minister also worked on the “long-standing investment in infiltration” of the Israeli regime.
While praising the public’s vigilance in reporting suspicious activities, he highlighted illegal aliens as a security challenge: “We are not fearing our neighbors, but we cannot accept individuals who enter our country and undermine their security.”
During the 12-day war, law enforcement officials have publicly arrested several undocumented Afghan nationals accused of supporting the Israeli regime’s activities in Iranian soil.
Momeni revealed that the issue does not involve all Afghan people living in Iran, highlighting that many are “hard-working contributors to Iran’s economy.”
His statements about illegal foreigners have been echoed by other Iranian authorities.
On Saturday, Iranian prosecutor Mohammad Mobahedi Azad warned undocumented foreigners to leave promptly or face legal action.
Prosecutors reaffirmed Iran’s hospitality, but emphasized that illicit presence is not tolerated.
Elsewhere in his interview, Momeni emphasized the adoption of “non-passionate defense” tactics such as “not putting all eggs in one basket” to protect key assets.
The minister closed down by describing social cohesion as Iran’s ultimate shield. “People are our partners. Officials have to protect this social capital.