After the Israel Defense Forces targeted railways and bridges inside Iran this week, a prominent Israeli military correspondent outlined what may be the likely strategy behind the strikes, one aimed at isolating the despotic Iranian regime and weakening its grip on power.
Itay Blumenthal of Kan 11 News said Tuesday that attacking Iran’s rail infrastructure could significantly hinder the regime’s ability to move forces across a vast country.
“Attacking the railways in Iran will make it difficult for Iranian forces to reinforce a huge country that is half the size of Europe,” Blumenthal noted. “In addition, there are attacks that seem to isolate Tehran from the rest of the country in terms of railway infrastructure — a step that will also help protesters take to the streets when necessary,” he added, noting that roughly 10 rail segments had been hit.
The potential strategy points to a broader objective: constraining the regime’s ability to respond to internal unrest.
Iran’s government has repeatedly used force to suppress dissent. The tyrannical Iranian regime enforces some of the world’s most repressive gun-control measures, with civilians facing a burdensome licensing process that includes military and psychological screening and results in a rejection rate of more than 93%. In May 2025, authorities intensified these restrictions, imposing 15-year prison sentences for unlicensed possession and targeting gunsmiths, trainers, and even air gun owners.
The Iranian regime has frequently used lethal force to consolidate power or crush dissent. Notable instances include: the 1988 massacre of political prisoners, which was, until 2026, the most notorious event in the regime’s history, as an estimated 30,000 people were summarily executed over a few months. “Death Commissions,” panels of judges (including current or former high-ranking officials) conducted minutes-long “trials” to determine if prisoners remained “steadfast” in their opposition. Those who did were sent to the gallows.
More recently, protests have been met with lethal force. In 2019, “Bloody November” occurred; a sudden hike in fuel prices triggered nationwide protests that were met with a near-total internet blackout and a “shoot-to-kill” policy. Reuters reported that security forces killed approximately 1,500 people in less than two weeks. In late 2022, following the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the “Morality Police,” the regime launched a brutal crackdown in which more than 500 protesters (including dozens of children) were killed, and thousands were injured. Rights groups and medical professionals documented a pattern of security forces intentionally firing birdshot at the eyes of protesters, resulting in hundreds of cases of partial or total blindness.
And, of course, there was the brutal massacre in January of this year. “More than 36,500 Iranians were killed by security forces during a nationwide crackdown on protests on January 8 and 9, according to classified government documents and other evidence reviewed by Iran International’s Editorial Board,” Iran International reported. “The figure, if confirmed, would make the crackdown the deadliest two-day massacre of protesters on record.”
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