‘Mossad' Farsi X account crowns exile journalist for cracking Iran's hush-hush war-chief mystery
A Persian-language X/Twitter account that styles itself as Israel's Mossad, but has never been publicly acknowledged by the agency, announced on Wednesday that investigative journalist Behnam Gholipour had won its crowd-sourced guessing game by correctly naming the Islamic Republic's newly appointed, officially unnamed commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters.
The Monday X post read: 'The lucky winner who discovered the 'confidential' name is Mr. Behnam. Please contact us privately to receive your prize,' the account posted in Farsi, quoting Gholipour's one-line reply: 'Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi.'
The game started a day earlier, when Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported that the regime would not reveal the commander's identity 'for his protection.' The anonymous X account, which has been posting satirical jabs and provocative claims since late June, retorted that it already knew the name and urged Iranians to send in their guesses.
Aliabadi, 63, is a veteran Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) general who previously served as deputy coordinator of Iran's General Staff and head of several large construction and infrastructure projects run by the IRGC's economic arm. Iranian media have referred to him in past years as 'Sardar Abdollahi,' highlighting his role in major development schemes and emergency relief operations. tasnimnews.com
Israeli officials have not commented on the ownership of the @MossadSpokesman Farsi feed, and it is not listed among Israel's verified government or military social-media channels. It seems that the account serves as a psychological operations platform that mixes genuine leaks with trolling to unsettle Tehran's leadership and engage ordinary Iranians.
Since appearing online on June 25, the feed has mocked senior Iranian officials, claiming they are secretly following the page. In addition, they have warned everyday users to avoid liking or sharing their posts to evade Iran's cyber police. They've also asserted, without evidence, that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had 'surrendered' to direct talks with the United States and Israel.
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