Israel has been using cell phone tracking to identify and carry out assassinations in Iran, including those of nuclear scientists in the most recent attacks, according to a Monday report from Iranian media affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
"Israel uses mobile tracking to assassinate individuals in Iran. It previously killed Ismail Haniyeh the same way in Tehran," the report claimed, as quoted by Iran International.
The report further explained that even turning off mobile phones at specific locations or residences can still reveal a person's whereabouts. It advised using secure, anti-tracking phones to protect against surveillance.
“We’re concerned these false reports will be an excuse for our services to be blocked at a time when people need them the most,” a WhatsApp spokesperson told CNN in response, adding that the app does not track precise location and that all messages are end-to-end encrypted.
“All of the messages you send to family and friends on WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted, meaning no-one except the sender and recipient has access to those messages, not even WhatsApp. We do not track your precise location, we don’t keep logs of who everyone is messaging, and we do not track the personal messages people are sending one another,” the spokesperson added.
IDF kills Iranian leaders
On Tuesday, the IDF killed Maj.-Gen. Ali Shademani, the newly appointed commander of the Iranian Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters, just days after his predecessor, Gholam Ali Rashid, was similarly killed in an Israeli strike, The Jerusalem Post previously reported.
Iranian media have reported that the Mossad and IDF intelligence have utilized techniques, including cell phone tracking, to monitor the movements of top Iranian commanders leading up to the launch of the recent war.
While top Iranian officials are reportedly discarding their phones to avoid being tracked, the IDF and Mossad have been able to continue targeting and eliminating key Iranian commanders, regardless of their efforts to hide, according to the Post.