WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, the Central Intelligence Agency reached out directly to Iranian citizens, publishing detailed guidance in their native language on how to safely establish contact with American intelligence operatives while President Donald Trump weighs potential military action against the Islamic Republic.
This latest outreach represents part of an ongoing intelligence recruitment campaign that has targeted speakers of Farsi, Korean, Russian, and Mandarin with secure communication methods. Tuesday’s Farsi message, distributed across X, Instagram, and YouTube platforms, arrives during a particularly volatile period in American-Iranian diplomatic relations, while Iran’s religious leadership confronts fresh domestic unrest.
The United States has positioned its most substantial military presence in the Middle East region in decades amid escalating Iranian tensions. In January, Trump issued military threats following Tehran’s harsh response to nationwide demonstrations, before redirecting attention toward Iran’s controversial nuclear activities and demanding diplomatic negotiations. Additional nuclear discussions are scheduled for this week.
Demonstrating continued internal opposition, Iranian university students staged anti-government demonstrations in Tehran on Monday.
“Hello. The Central Intelligence Agency hears you and wants to help,” the intelligence service stated in the message, based on English translations. “Here are some tips on how to make a secure virtual call with us.”
The Persian-language content accumulated millions of views in mere hours following its release.
While the agency maintains secrecy regarding specifics about new contacts or intelligence sources generated from previous recruitment materials, Director John Ratcliffe has confirmed these efforts are producing results.
“Last year, CIA’s Mandarin video campaign reached many Chinese citizens, and we know there are many more searching for a way to improve their lives and change their country for the better,” Ratcliffe stated earlier this month during the release of a new Mandarin-language video.
The intelligence agency’s recommendations include utilizing virtual private networks, or VPNs, to bypass government internet censorship and monitoring systems, along with employing untraceable temporary devices. The CIA additionally advised prospective sources to utilize private browsing software and eliminate their internet activity records for protection.
The guidance details methods for contacting the CIA through its official website or via the darknet, an internet section accessible only through specialized anonymity tools. The CIA has published comparable instructions in Russian as well.
Iran’s United Nations Mission spokesperson has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the new recruitment video.
