Revealed: Abortive Israeli campaign sought to recruit Iranian nuclear scientists, security officials
A report has revealed a subversive Israeli intelligence foray aimed at recruiting Iranians, which used an American comedian as its cover and the exiled son of Iran’s former US-backed monarch as a central pawn, but fell flat on its face.
Grayzone, an independent news website, carried the report on Monday, saying the campaign sought to bait Iranian nuclear scientists and security officials among their other compatriots by enticing them to turn on their own country’s Islamic establishment.
The bid primarily used ads placed by Atlanta-based comedian and influencer Desi Banks, who enjoys a nine-million-plus Instagram following.
According to Google’s ad transparency records, Banks Productions LLC ran four Persian-language recruitment ad campaigns across at least 19 countries, from the United States to Germany and nations scattered across the West Asia region.
Some advertisements openly urged viewers to be in the Israeli spy agency Mossad’s employ, redirecting them to official recruitment portals, which would provide potential traitors with Persian-language recruitment forms.
The ads would urge Internet frequenters to activate their “VPN services” in advance.
Many ads were aimed at German-based Iranians, including family members of Iranian nuclear scientists.
“You are just one click away from making history. Call Now. The future belongs to you,” declared one Mossad-linked ad.
All ads would strongly encourage subversion, including by re-sharing posts from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s close aide and “digital advisor” Hananya Naftali and rehashing subversive themes promoted by the former Iranian monarch’s son, Reza Pahlavi.
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Enjoying significant Western and Israeli financial and political patronage, Pahlavi and his aides have been engaged in a years-long campaign aimed at trying to undermine the widespread grassroots support for the country’s Islamic establishment.
The campaign escalated during the Israeli regime’s unprovoked war on the Islamic Republic in June by incorporating more aggressive content and openly backing the Israeli aggression that ended up claiming the lives of more than 900 Iranians, including children and other civilians.
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The foray depended heavily on a telegram channel named Blue Message that claimed to be aimed at recruiting elite Iranian security and intelligence personnel.
According to Grayzone, “A Telegram poll in July asking how many had signed up drew 804 views and 117 responses, but no disclosure of results.”
“An October poll on X ended in mockery, with most respondents answering ‘no one,’ alongside Persian insults,” dismissing the effort as “a waste of money and calling Israelis ‘child killers.’”
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