Pentagon disables ad trackers on phones, computers amid fears of Iran retaliation: Reports

The Pentagon has ordered the US military to disable ad trackers on its troops' phones, computers and other devices amid fears of Iran's retaliatory strikes to the US-Israeli aggression.

According to reports published on Friday, US military branches have disabled advertising IDs on devices amid concerns that location data could expose American troops to the Iranians.

Pentagon ordered military personnel in West Asia to immediately stop using geolocation services on both personal and government-issued devices.

The move was disclosed in letters released by a US senator and in statements provided by military officials.

The letters released on Friday by US Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, alongside the statements given ‌to Reuters, indicated that the move followed reports that commercially available location data had been used to target American forces in West Asia.

The disclosures highlight ⁠a growing national security concern: that location data collected by the advertising industry and sold by data brokers — companies that collate and ​resell personal data — can be used to track and target military personnel deployed to war zones.

Reuters reported last month that Iran had used the publicly available data collected from the brokers to track US troops in the region.

‘Large number of US forces killed’ as Iran’s Armed Forces launch wholesale retaliation: IRGC

Iran’s Armed Forces begin staging a series of combined retaliatory operations featuring missile and drone strikes targeting regional American bases and interests.

However, the US army said the advertising IDs tied to mobile devices had been disabled since earlier this year. Also, the US Air Force said it disabled the advertising identifiers on computers and mobile phones two months ago. US Special Operations Command said too that it had “recently” disabled the trackers on its Windows devices.

Since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran in February, Iranian forces have killed 18 US service members and injured 759 more, according to the Pentagon.

Officials say the vast majority of the injuries are traumatic brain injuries, many resulting from Iranian missile and drone attacks on US bases spread in Arab states across West Asia.

Iranian Army advises US to pay price of aggression, leave region

The Iranian Army spokesman says the US should accept the consequences of its aggression against Iran and leave West Asia.

Meantime, Iran’s military advised the US to accept the reality on the ground and leave the region if it pursued the Americans' interests.

The United States should accept the consequences of its attack on Iran and get out of the West Asia region, said Iran's Army spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia.

Akraminia said in a post on the social media platform X on Friday that the challenges facing the US military in the region and the problems confronting the American people stem from Washington's decision to attack an independent and civilized nation. “The appropriate solution for the US is to accept realities, pay the costs and leave the region.”.

He said the US exit would contribute to regional security while bringing the American people closer to prosperity.

The United States and Israel waged their illegal war of aggression against Iran on February 28. However, forty days later, on April 8, the enemies were forced to accept a ceasefire amid Iran’s brave resistance and successful retaliatory operations.

On June 17, Tehran and Washington signed the 14-point Islamabad memorandum of understanding (MoU), which called for an end to hostilities, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and further negotiations toward a final agreement.

However, Washington violated all provisions of the understanding, prompting Iran to deliver a firm response. The region has since witnessed two rounds of wars in July and early September, with the US striking Iran's military and civilian centers and Iran responding by hitting US-run bases across West Asia.

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