Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said he believes "the Arab Spring will be followed by a Persian Spring," as western sanctions sanctions against Iran are leading to domestic unrest.
Lieberman made his statements after Iranian riot police used teargas to disperse hundreds of angry demonstrators in Tehran who chanted anti-government slogans after the value of the rial, Iran’s currency, continued to plunge, sending prices in the country skyrocketing.
Police tried to disperse the protesters who rallied outside the capital’s central bazaar. Many left their businesses and shuttered their shops.
The curerency has lost more than half its value since last week.
"The Arab Spring will be followed by a Persian Spring, instability is spreading in Iran, and not just in Tehran," Avigdor Lieberman told Israeli military radio.
"There is no doubt that the protest movement will be strengthened by the approach of the Iranian presidential elections next summer," he added.
Elections are due in June 2013.
"The Iranian regime is reaching a critical point. International sanctions will not convince the leaders of the country to renounce their nuclear programme, but what is important is that the Iranian people have begun to realise that they are not ready to be sacrificed to satisfy the revolutionary and fanatic ambitions of their leaders," the Foreign Minister said.
He called on Western governments to act to help opposition activists who rose up against the regime when Ahmadinejad was reelected in 2009.
"This time, the West must help the movement, facilitating its communications, giving money and mobilising international organisations like the UN Security Council, the European Union and other bodies," he said.
Israel says a nuclear-armed Iran would pose an existential threat to the Jewish state and that it reserves the right to take military action to prevent Tehran obtaining a weapons capability.