A social media account affiliated with Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency published a pointed critique Friday of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, accusing him of being unfit to govern due to alleged substance abuse and detachment from public needs.
“How can a leader lead when they sleep half the day and spend the other half high on substances?” read the post in Farsi from the @MossadSpokesman account on X, formerly Twitter. It ended with a charged refrain: “Water, electricity, life!”
The post, which was automatically translated from its original Farsi, did not name Khamenei directly but was widely interpreted as referring to the 86-year-old supreme leader. The @MossadSpokesman account, verified and often used to deliver messages targeting the Iranian regime, frequently engages Farsi-speaking audiences with political messaging critical of Tehran’s leadership.
Friday’s tweet garnered more than 180,000 views within two days. Its closing words appeared to allude to Iran’s chronic infrastructure and resource crises, including nationwide protests over water shortages and power outages.
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The @MossadSpokesman account, known as “Mossad Farsi,” has become an increasingly provocative online presence. Though Israel has not officially confirmed its ownership, the account is widely regarded as an official messaging channel of the Mossad targeting Iranian audiences.
This is not the first time the account has stirred controversy. Following the killing of Gholam Ali Rashid, head of Iran’s emergency military command (Khatam al-Anbiya), in the opening strike of the war with Iran—and the subsequent assassination of his replacement, Ali Shadmani—Tehran chose not to reveal the name of the new commander. Mossad Farsi responded with a public challenge.
In a post earlier this month, it wrote: “The Tasnim news agency announced that the Iranian regime will not publish the name of the new commander of Khatam al-Anbiya in order to protect him. Know that we know his actual name and are well acquainted with him. Unfortunately, such basic information is being hidden from the Iranian people. Please send us your guesses regarding his name.”
More than 2,300 users responded. Some offered guesses, including high-profile Iranian officials and even Mojtaba Khamenei, the supreme leader’s son. Others responded with threats or ridicule.
The next day, Mossad Farsi responded to one Iranian user, Behnam Golipour, who correctly guessed the name of the commander as Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi—a former deputy IRGC Air Force chief and sanctioned former official under former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. “The lucky winner who successfully guessed the ‘secret’ name is Mr. Behnam. Please contact us privately to receive your prize,” the account wrote.
Golipour, alarmed by the attention, later clarified: “I do not receive money or compensation from any individual, institution or organization for the freedom of the Iranian people. I am independent and free. That’s why I can write here freely and without hesitation. For me, the freedom of the Iranian people is the greatest wish and the best reward.”