Officials of Iran's Basij militia can be heard on a leaked recording weighing the risk of a new round of protests and the danger that members will be identified online, a rare glimpse of the anxiety inside the force the state sends against demonstrators.
In the audio recording of a closed meeting of the Media and Cyberspace Headquarters in Pakdasht, Tehran province, officials discuss possible new demonstrations, the online identification of Basij members and plans to track anti-government activity and individuals on social media.
The meeting was held amid recent developments including the killing of Hamidreza Rajabzadeh, a Basij member and government-aligned religious singer, as well as growing concern among officials over the role and influence of social media.
The Media and Cyberspace Headquarters is made up of cyber personnel and government supporters operating under the supervision of the Revolutionary Guards.
The concerns raised at the meeting echoed recent remarks by Ebrahim Garmabdari, commander of the Revolutionary Guards in Pakdasht, who said government opponents were using sanctions, infiltration and social media to target the Islamic Republic’s governing structure.
Earlier this week, Iran’s supreme leader appointed Hossein Taeb, a veteran intelligence official, to lead the Basij paramilitary forces, giving the former protest crackdown figure a mandate to expand the paramilitary force’s grassroots intelligence network and use of new technologies.
Concerns over pressure on Basij members
Participants of the meeting raised concerns about mounting social and psychological pressure on government-aligned forces.
Referring to Rajabzadeh’s recent killing, the meeting’s lead speaker described the incident as a warning that pro-government figures could be targeted both offline and online.
He said the pressure was intended to make Basij members, mosque clerics and local base commanders regret or feel ashamed of their affiliation, potentially pushing them to adopt opposition views to avoid social rejection.
Earlier in the meeting, a participant identified as Mr. Shahbazi said the underlying tensions had not subsided and warned that public protests against the government and confrontation with security forces could continue.
Concerns over AI and exposure of Basij members
A significant part of the discussion focused on possible breaches of security systems and the exposure of Basij personnel.
The lead speaker warned that opposition networks could use artificial intelligence to identify Basij members from group photographs and obtain personal details about them for possible retaliation.
He also voiced distrust of participants’ mobile phones, suggesting that apps such as ChatGPT could be listening to their conversation in real time.
Social media blamed for unrest and economic problems
The discussion also turned to social media, with the speaker criticizing filtering policies while also blaming the internet and platforms such as Instagram for a range of political, social and economic problems.
He said blocking Instagram, Telegram and WhatsApp had only increased public anger, but described online platforms as a major factor behind unrest, rising prices, cultural change and even the election of relatively moderate Masoud Pezeshkian.
He also said foreign intelligence services including Mossad were exploiting economic hardship to recruit young people and obtain information through online platforms by offering incentives such as free internet access, servers and VPN configurations.
A 2025 survey by the Iranian Parliament Research Center indicates that the vast majority of Iranians (81%) rely on VPNs to bypass internet censorship.
Order to monitor anti-government activity
The meeting also included what participants described as a “top secret” directive instructing cyber personnel to monitor platforms including Instagram and document protest-related and anti-government activity by residents of Pakdasht.
The meeting leader said the monitoring should apply without exception, instructing personnel to take screenshots even when close relatives posted protest-related content.
He told them to send the screenshots through the Iranian messaging app Eitaa along with identifying information including the person’s father’s name, national ID number, phone number and workplace address so action could be taken against them.
Warning of protests over fuel prices
Toward the end of the meeting, a Pakdasht IRGC cyber official warned of the possibility of widespread and violent protests in the near future, including over increases in fuel prices.
He said that in the “next unrest,” even people who did not own vehicles could take to the streets because of accumulated anger and attack targets including banks, fire trucks, ambulances and, in particular, Basij members.
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