The top U.S. commander in the Middle East has warned troops that cellphone videos and other material posted online can help Iran target American bases, as military officials consider tighter restrictions on mobile phone use across the region. Some deployed personnel could soon be ordered to surrender their phones, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, a move that would significantly affect thousands of U.S. troops who rely on mobile devices to stay in contact with their families.
Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, said Iran was benefiting from near-real-time access to reports, photographs and videos showing whether its strikes had succeeded. In a previously unreported July 28 letter obtained by Reuters, Cooper said Tehran was searching news reports and online posts by journalists that included “reactions, photos, and footage from the cellphones of our troops.”
“The direct, unavoidable cost of this open-source intelligence could be measured in the lives of American service members and civilian residents in targeted Gulf countries,” Cooper wrote. He called on troops to “redouble our focus on operational security,” though he did not prescribe specific measures.
The warning highlights growing tension between real-time reporting on the war, increasingly supported by satellite imagery and first-person footage, and the U.S. military’s efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining information that could help it strike American forces. In Jordan, which has repeatedly been targeted by Iranian attacks, some troops have been told that their phones will be confiscated in the coming days, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
A third source said such a measure was under consideration across the region because of operational security concerns, but stressed that no final decision had been made. Asked about the letter, CENTCOM spokesperson Captain Timothy Hawkins said it was intended as a broad reminder.
“The message is a general reminder to our service members on the importance of maintaining operational security,” Hawkins said. “This is one of many opportunities Admiral Cooper has used to convey operational priorities.”
Footage showed troops running for shelter
In one video posted online this month, a U.S. service member filmed soldiers running for shelter during a deadly Iranian attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on July 17. Cooper appeared to refer to that footage in his letter, saying it had been recorded using Meta smart glasses equipped with a built-in camera.
“Video captured from a service member’s Meta glasses was posted on Instagram showing where and how the individual had evacuated to a bunker during an Iranian missile and drone attack,” he wrote. Cooper said Iran would normally have difficulty determining whether its attacks had succeeded because of U.S. electronic jamming and other measures used in combat zones.
“Iran knows the weapons were fired; however, their forces do not know if they missed by 50 meters, hit an empty tarmac, or successfully struck a crowded facility,” he wrote. “Detailed lists, descriptions, and analyses of what was hit, openly published by news outlets are essentially performing Iran’s Battle Damage Assessment for them, free of charge.”
Iranian strike on Kuwait
(Photo: various sources / AFP)
Eighteen U.S. troops have been killed since the conflict with Iran began on February 28, and more than 600 have been wounded, according to the Reuters report. The casualties have intensified public concern over a war supported by roughly one-third of Americans.
Democratic lawmakers have called for the administration to release more information about the conflict, including damage to U.S. military infrastructure such as radar towers, barracks and aircraft hangars. They have also demanded the release of a military investigation into what Reuters reported was likely a U.S. strike on a girls’ school in Iran on the first day of the war.
Families fear loss of contact
Rules governing cellphone use among deployed troops vary widely across the U.S. military. Personnel are often required to store phones in secure locations, and mobile devices can be prohibited during sensitive missions, particularly those involving special operations forces.
But the prospect of widespread phone seizures has caused anxiety among some military families, two sources said, particularly as they monitor Iranian claims of deadly attacks on U.S. bases across the Middle East. U.S. officials have warned for years that applications installed on mobile devices, including fitness apps, can expose location data and help adversaries track or target military personnel.
Reuters reported in May that commercially available location data collected from smartphones and other devices had been used to target or surveil U.S. forces. The Pentagon has also tightly controlled the release of information about Iranian attacks, frequently citing operational security concerns when declining to confirm Tehran’s claims or provide details about incidents in which U.S. troops were wounded.
Cooper warned that detailed public disclosures could allow Iran to refine its targeting and launch additional strikes. “Detailed public disclosures can become an immediate green light for Iranian forces to launch a secondary, much more devastating wave of attacks,” he wrote.