Iranian operatives saturated X/Twitter with antisemitic conspiracy theories and anti-Israel talking points aimed at Americans during the Israel-Iran conflict, a Diaspora Affairs Ministry report found.
The study said hundreds of coordinated fake accounts generated up to 60% of the traffic on key wartime hashtags, many of them tweeting in English accusing a “Jewish lobby” of dragging Washington into conflict and branding Israel a “terrorist state,” all with the goal of eroding US support for military action against Tehran.
Investigators traced the network to people likely directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Dozens of fake profiles posed as progressive activists, Black Lives Matter supporters, or “America-first” Republicans, while others masqueraded as Jewish users urging the community to cut ties with Israel. The accounts recycled identical slogans, shared AI-generated images of alleged Israeli atrocities, and amplified fringe voices hostile to Israel.
The accounts recycled identical slogans, shared AI-generated images of alleged Israeli atrocities, and amplified fringe voices hostile to Israel.
One verified profile wrote, “The Jews blackmail Trump,” while another insisted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “controls” US policy; both showed hallmarks of automation and no authentic offline identity.
The ministry said the operation sought to revive painful memories of past US wars in the Middle East, cast Israel as an unworthy ally, and intensify partisan divisions. Analysts linked the tactics to earlier Russian-Iranian influence campaigns identified by US media.
Iranian psychological warfare cannot remain unchecked
Most of the fake profiles were created within the past 18 months, posted thousands of times a day, and engaged mainly through likes and reposts rather than conversation, classic signs of bot activity, the report noted.
Officials warned that, without stronger platform moderation, social media would remain a “force multiplier” for Iranian psychological warfare. The findings were shared with the US Department of Homeland Security and the State Department’s Global Engagement Center as part of broader efforts to curb foreign online interference.
Operation Rising Lion ended in a ceasefire on June 25, but most of the identified bot accounts remained active at press time, and the ministry urged X to suspend them before the next flare-up.