Iran Encourages Citizens to Report on Iranians Abroad Amid Surveillance Efforts

<p>Iran has initiated a program encouraging citizens to report on Iranians living abroad, effectively utilizing crowdsourced surveillance through a website and messaging platforms, including Telegram, according to reports from Iranian media and an official source who confirmed the program to Fox News Digital.</p><p>The platform, named Alaj—Persian for "remedy" or "cure"—invites users to provide information on individuals overseas whom it accuses of acting against Iran’s national interests or security. Iran International reported that tips could be submitted via the Alaj website, a Telegram bot, and Iran’s Bale messaging service. The initiative has been promoted by Iranian state television and the Revolutionary Guard-affiliated Fars News Agency.</p><p>An Iranian official source confirmed to Fox News Digital that Alaj and the Telegram chatbot were established to allow certain individuals to report information about Iranians abroad. The source noted that the website was taken offline after receiving significant criticism within Iran.</p><p>The website went offline shortly after its launch, although the reasons for its suspension remain unclear.</p><p>Iran International reported that Alaj claimed to have identified and monitored 1,600 individuals, including approximately 600 identified through public reports. These numbers have not been independently verified. The platform allegedly published names, photographs, national identification numbers, dates of birth, and fathers’ names of Iranians abroad, according to the outlet.</p><p>Lisa Daftari, an Iranian-American journalist and foreign policy analyst, emphasized that the significant aspect of this initiative is not just the collection of information, but the encouragement for Iranians to report on each other.</p><p>"Even if it's just the perception that other Iranians can report you or can get you in trouble or that this app exists, it makes a lot of people fearful," Daftari told Fox News Digital. "You'll think twice before going to that next protest."</p><p>Daftari noted that the fear is particularly pronounced for members of the Iranian diaspora who have relatives in Iran.</p><p>"Now your face could be captured, you can get in trouble," she said. "If you have family in Iran, they can get into trouble."</p><p>Daftari described this approach as a digital extension of a long-standing system of control, arguing that Iran’s clerical establishment has historically created uncertainty regarding whether neighbors, colleagues, or acquaintances might report one another to authorities.</p><p>"Now the regime wants to take this show on the road and do that here, here in the West," Daftari stated. "They want to intimidate people. And it works."</p><p>Daftari shared her personal experiences of intimidation, stating, "I've been followed, I've been hacked multiple times, I have been approached in person in L.A., in New York, even at the airport."</p><p>After a major hacking incident compromised her social media accounts and email, she was contacted by her local FBI office and began collaborating with agents.</p><p>Daftari mentioned that hackers obtained private photographs of her and sent them to her husband, stating, "The message they want to send is very clear, that we know where you are, we can reach you. And obviously the point is to intimidate and silence those who speak out, who report, who speak the truth and talk about all the crimes of this regime."</p><p>She noted that the effects of this intimidation extend beyond prominent journalists or activists. While filming at a Los Angeles cafe where Iranian Americans were watching a World Cup game, Daftari observed people attempting to hide their faces from the camera out of fear that footage could reach Iran and expose their relatives to retaliation.</p><p>Daftari explained that this illustrates why a system like Alaj can have an impact, even if a target never knows whether information about them has been submitted.</p><p>She expressed that the threat has altered her own behavior, recalling concerns about security when announcing the location of her father’s memorial service after his death. Daftari regularly considers her parking, the details she shares online, and security vulnerabilities at places she visits. "It does silence a lot of people and it does change the freedom by which we think we can operate here in the United States where we believe we have full freedom," she said.</p><p>"Their intimidation works," she added. "It works to a certain extent on each individual."</p><p>Daftari argued that the broader campaign should influence how Americans perceive the confrontation with Tehran, stating that the threat extends beyond Iran’s nuclear program.</p><p>"It's not just about nuclear weapons, it's about a deadly ideology that has made its way here to U.S. soil," she said. "We have to understand that."</p>