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Is Israel using digital signatures from electronics to launch Iran strikes?
People watch as smoke rises following an Israeli attack on the IRIB building, the country's state broadcaster, in Tehran, Iran, on June 16, 2025. Reuters
Iran has banned the use of all network-connected communication devices by government officials and their bodyguards, amid growing concerns that Israel may have used digital signatures from electronics to carry out recent high-profile strikes.
The directive, reported by the IRGC-affiliated Fars news agency, prohibits the use of smartphones, laptops, smartwatches, and other connected devices. It warned that simply powering down these electronics may not be enough to prevent geolocation tracking, and urged the use of secure, anti-tracking technologies as a precaution.
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Iranian MP Hamid Rasaei echoed the urgency on social media platform X, urging all officials and aides to surrender their phones to reduce security risks.
The announcement of Iran's sweeping ban on network-connected devices for government officials comes on the heels of a major cyberattack targeting Sepah Bank, a state-run institution affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The attack caused widespread ATM outages across the country and is suspected to have been orchestrated by Israeli operatives, heightening Tehran's concerns over digital vulnerabilities within its state infrastructure.
The latest directive reflects the deepening, technology-driven shadow war between Iran and Israel. Last year, Israel reportedly used explosive-laden pagers to assassinate senior Hezbollah figures—a tactic that has left Iranian security services particularly alert to covert digital threats.
Tensions escalated further on Tuesday when Iranian state television urged citizens to delete WhatsApp from their devices, claiming without evidence that the messaging app was being used by Israeli intelligence to harvest user data.
WhatsApp swiftly denied the accusation, issuing a statement that read: 'We do not track your precise location, we don't keep logs of who everyone is messaging, and we do not track the personal messages people are sending one another.' The platform, which uses end-to-end encryption, warned that the allegations could be an attempt to justify a potential block on the service in Iran.
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Authorities have yet to clarify how long the newly announced device restrictions will remain in effect or whether similar measures will be extended to the broader public.
Acknowledging the internet restrictions being placed on Iran, the country's Cyber Security Command issued a statement carried by Iranian state television saying it was 'implementing numerous measures for different parts of the country.'
The statement said it was to stop enemies from 'penetrating cyber layers and preventing them from continuing to exploit infrastructure to carry out cyber and military operations.'
'We ask the dear people of our country to be patient and cooperate in the process of implementing these measures,' it added.
Landlines appeared cut off from international calls and only local websites were running in Iran.
With inputs from agencies
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