Authored by former CIA officer Larry Johnson

As part of the US campaign to engineer a regime change in Iran, the US military and intelligence community are usingOperational Preparation of the Environmentaka OPE. OPE is defined in joint publications (e.g., JP 3-05 Special Operations) as non-intelligence activities conducted prior to or in preparation for potential military operations to set conditions for success. It encompassesshaping the operational environment through intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, information operations, civil affairs, psychological operations, and other preparatory actions—often in denied or politically sensitive areas.

I believe that one of the major OPE efforts is to convince the US public that the overwhelming majority of Iranians despise the Islamic Republic and want it overthrown. In my opinion, a major player in this OPE is a polling outfit known asGAMAAN.GAMAAN (Group for Analyzing and Measuring Attitudes in Iran)collaborates withPsiphon VPN, which is widely used across Iran.GAMAANfindings have been consistent in painting a picture of massive opposition to the Iranian regime.

According toGAMAANpolls taken prior to 2025, a significant majority of Iranians — around 70% — oppose the continuation of the Islamic Republic. The highest level of opposition, 81%, occurred during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising in late 2022. Support for “the principles of the Islamic revolution and the Supreme Leader” has decreased from 18% in 2022 to 11% in 2024. Opposition to the Islamic Republic is higher among the youth, urban residents, and the highly educated. An overwhelming majority of Iranians (89%) support democracy.Gamaan

Only about 20% of Iranians support the continuation of the Islamic Republic. When asked about preferred alternatives, about 26% favor a secular republic and around 21% support a monarchy. For 11%, the specific form of the alternative system doesn’t matter. About 22% report lacking sufficient information to choose an alternative system.

But what are the funding sources forGAMAANandPsiphon VPN? Let’s start withGAMAAN.GAMAANdescribes itself as an independent, non-profit research foundation registered in the Netherlands. It emphasizes its academic credentials (e.g., founded by scholars at Dutch universities like Tilburg and Utrecht) and innovative online methods (e.g., anonymity sampling via VPNs like Psiphon) to overcome self-censorship in authoritarian contexts.

GAMAAN operates under the supervision of a board including Dr. Ammar Maleki (founder and director), assistant professor of comparative politics at Tilburg University, and Dr. Pooyan Tamimi Arab, associate professor of secular and religious studies at Utrecht University. Maleki is an assistant professor of Comparative Politics and a self-described activist for democracy in his native Iran.Tilburg UniversityCritically, he does not hide his political stance — hisTilburg University profileexplicitly states that he is “a pro-democracy activist and political analyst of Iranian politics” and that he tries “to have an impact on political debates around democratization of Iran.”

This is where the picture becomes more contested.GAMAANhas relied on US government-funded VPN providerPsiphonto disseminate its surveys; collaborated with theUSAID-funded Tony Blair Institute; and collaborated with and received funding from historian Ladan Boroumand, co-founder of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran, which is in turnsupported by the US government-funded National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

Psiphonis owned and operated byPsiphon Inc., a Canadian corporation based in Ontario.Psiphonwas originally developed by the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, with version 1.0 launching on December 1, 2006, as open-source software. In early 2007, Psiphon, Inc. was established as a Canadian corporation independent of the Citizen Lab and the University of Toronto.

It has a notable funding history. In 2008, Psiphon, Inc. was awarded sub-grants from the US State Department Internet Freedom program, administered by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. In 2010, Psiphon began providing services to the Broadcasting Board of Governors (US), the US Department of State, and the BBC. More recently, in April 2024, theOpen Technology Fund (OTF)announced increased long-term funding forPsiphon, with subsequentOTFawards totaling US$18.54 million for 2024 and US$5.87 million for 2025.

Source: ZeroHedge News