Social Media Account Affiliated With Israel’s Intelligence Agency Trolls the Islamic Republic

A Mossad-affiliated Farsi-language X account is trolling Iranian officials. Appealing to opponents of the Islamic Republic, the account is warning citizens to stay away from soon-to-be targeted Revolutionary Guards officials, and posting videos that expose the regime’s shortcomings. The account features video postings from a veteran Iranian-born Israeli broadcaster, Menashe Amir. The account managers “told me that the message would be of friendship with the Iranian people, so I said, sure,” Mr. Amir tells the Sun.Unlike “The Mossad: Satirical but Awesome,” the “Mossad Farsi” account is actually affiliated with the Israeli foreign intelligence agency. Mr. Amir checked around with former contacts to ensure its authenticity. “It’s not an official Mossad account, but it’s connected to it,” he said.In a recent caper, the account holders asked Iranians to guess the name of a recently installed military commander whose identity was concealed by the regime for fear of a Mossad assassination attempt. Out of thousands of responses, one “correct” answer was chosen, making public the new commander’s identity. Questions arose about the account, tagged @MossadSpokesman, because it is identified with a blue check mark, such as are awarded to verified X accounts, unlike official government gray markings. The Mossad does run a separate, gray-marked X account, which it uses infrequently, mostly for recruitment purposes. “It’s not an official account,” Mr. Amir says. The Mossad has studiously declined to deny connection to the account, which was launched after a cease-fire was announced in the 12-day Iranian-Israeli war. “Dear people of Iran,” the account’s June 26 posting opened, before stating that Israelis care more about ordinary Iranians than the Tehran regime. “We are at your side and have assembled a team of specialist doctors, including cardiologists, diabetes specialists, pulmonary specialists, infectious diseases specialists, oncologists, as well as support for pregnant women and psychological support.”The posting offered telemedicine services to Iranians harmed during the war. All affiliated physicians are Farsi-speaking, it noted, and it included usable telephone numbers in Israel, the Netherlands, and Czechia. While it’s unclear how many people actually used the service, the account now has more than 33,000 followers. “We conducted a thorough survey of the page’s followers and were not surprised to find that the respected gentlemen Pakpour, Mousavi, and Araghchi are among our most loyal viewers,” a June 29 posting states, promising a follow-back. Mohammad Pakpour is the newly appointed head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Abdolrahim Mousav commands the Iranian armed forces. Abbas Araghchi is the regime’s foreign minister.“Hundreds of active Revolutionary Guard soldiers and officers who are tired of this regime are coming to us,” a Thursday posting claims. “We promise to contact you, please be patient. Footnote: Anyone who has not yet received their salary from the regime this month will be given priority.”In a Tuesday caper, the account noted that the regime-owned Tansim news service declined to name the new commander of an IRGC arm, the Seals of the Prophets, after two of his predecessors were killed by Israel. “We know exactly what his name is and we know him well,” the Mossad Farsi account declared. “Unfortunately, such basic information is being hidden from the Iranian people. Please send us your guesses about his name.”More than 2,300 responses later, the account announced the “lucky winner” on Wednesday. It was a man identified as Behnam Gholipour, whose guess was that the new commander is General Ali Abdullahi Aliabadi. An apparently alarmed Mr. Gholipour later noted on his personal account that he received no money or other compensation from anyone. “For me, the freedom of the Iranian people is the greatest wish and the best reward,” he wrote. As of Thursday, Mr. Amir was featured in four video messages on the account’s page, including the inaugural June 25 posting, in which he stated, “We have no war with the people of Iran. We have never had a war. The peoples of Iran and Israel have always been friends and will remain friends. Our issue is with the regime of Iran.”A soft-spoken 85-year-old, Mr. Amir was born at Tehran, where he launched a career in journalism at the age of 17, writing for the Kayhan newspaper. Three years later he emigrated to Israel, where he later founded Israel Radio’s Farsi service.Mr. Amir’s penchant for accurate reporting is widely recognized. During the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, high-ranked Iranian military officials listened to his broadcasts intently despite their extreme anti-Iran ideology. The reason: They didn’t trust or believe the regime-owned media propaganda.

Social Media Account Affiliated With Israel’s Intelligence Agency Trolls the Islamic Republic

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