The US warns that Instagram posts may assist Iran and is considering seizing troops’ phones.
The concern is so serious that some US troops deployed in the region may soon be ordered to surrender their phones, Reuters reports, citing multiple sources. The US military is tightening control over mobile phone use in the Middle East after concluding that videos and photos posted online may help Iran enhance attacks on US bases.
Restrictions on phone use
The head of US Central Command (CENTCOM), Admiral Brad Cooper, warned servicemembers that seemingly harmless social media posts allow Iran to almost instantly assess the impact of its missile and drone strikes. This information would be difficult to obtain during a conflict by any other means.
According to Reuters, soldiers deployed in Jordan — one of the countries frequently subjected to Iranian attacks — have already been informed about the possible confiscation of their phones in the coming days. Another source noted that this step is being discussed more widely across the region, although no final decision has been made yet. Any restrictions will significantly affect thousands of American servicemembers who rely on their phones to communicate with their families back home and reassure loved ones during the conflict.
US Central Command spokesman Captain Timothy Hawkins, responding to Reuters, downplayed the significance of this event, stating: “This message is a general reminder to our servicemembers about the importance of maintaining operational security. This is one of many opportunities that Admiral Cooper has used to convey operational priorities.”
How a soldier’s Instagram post raised alarm
The warning came after an incident earlier this month when an American servicemember recorded other soldiers rushing to bunkers during an Iranian missile and drone attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on July 17. According to Admiral Cooper, the footage was taken using Meta smart glasses equipped with a built-in camera and then uploaded to Instagram.
“Video taken from a servicemember’s Meta glasses was posted on Instagram, showing where and how the person evacuated to a bunker during an Iranian missile and drone attack,” Cooper wrote in a July 28 letter obtained by Reuters. The admiral warned that such posts reveal much more than soldiers realize.
“Free intelligence” for Iran
Cooper noted that Iran often has no immediate way of knowing whether its missiles hit a key target or landed harmlessly, as US forces use electronic jamming and other tactics on the battlefield. However, social media posts, eyewitness accounts, and even detailed news reports can provide Tehran with this information.
“Iran knows that the weapon was launched; however, their forces do not know if they missed by 50 meters, hit an empty platform, or successfully struck a crowded object,” he wrote. He added: “Detailed lists, descriptions, and analyses of what was hit, openly published by news outlets, essentially perform battle damage assessment (BDA) for Iran for free.”
In his letter, Cooper warned that the consequences could be deadly. “The direct, immediate costs of this open-source intelligence can be measured in the lives of American servicemembers and civilian residents in the targeted Gulf countries,” he wrote. Urging stricter discipline, he called on the troops to “double our attention to operational security.”
Fears of more destructive follow-up attacks
The commander also warned that public disclosure of the extent of damage from Iranian strikes could prompt Tehran to launch a new wave of attacks, knowing exactly where to aim. “Detailed public disclosures could become an immediate green light for Iranian forces to launch a secondary, much more destructive wave of attacks,” he warned.
The conflict between the US and Iran, which began on February 28, has already claimed the lives of 18 American troops, while more than 600 have been injured. These losses have raised growing concern in the United States, where polls show that only about one in three Americans support the war.
Democratic lawmakers have demanded that the Pentagon release more information about the damage to American bases, including radar installations, aircraft hangars, and barracks. They have also called for the publication of a military investigation into a suspected US strike on a girls’ school in Iran on the day the conflict began. The Pentagon has repeatedly warned troops that smartphones can reveal confidential information through location-tracking apps and commercially available data. Reuters reported in May that location information collected from mobile devices had already been used to monitor or target US forces.
