The CIA issued on Tuesday a public appeal to Iranians for information, following a similar outreach effort attributed to Israel’s Mossad, amid heightened alert over the possibility of a U.S. strike on Iran.
In a post published on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency wrote in Farsi: “Hello. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) can hear your voice and wants to help you.” Alongside a video, the agency added: “Below is the necessary guidance on how to securely contact us virtually.”
The outreach comes months after the creation of an X account called “MOSSAD FARSI,” which claims to be the official Persian-language account of the Mossad spokesperson. The claim has not been denied by Israeli authorities.
The mysterious account, opened in May last year, offered remote medical treatment to Iranian citizens a month later and provided contact details. It also posted a video of Menashe Amir, a former Persian-language broadcaster for Kol Israel, speaking under a Mossad logo.
In one of several posts published later, the account revealed the identity of the head of Khatam al-Anbiya, Iran’s emergency military command, after two of his predecessors were killed just days apart during last year's 12-day war.
In an apparent effort to prevent an assassination of the successor’s successor, Iranian authorities decided not to disclose the name of the new commander. The “Mossad Farsi” account then asked followers who they believed was leading Khatam al-Anbiya and later published the identity of a user who was purportedly correct.
“Please contact us privately to receive your prize,” the account wrote at the time.