Allied Intelligence — 2026-05-31

Secret Mossad Influence Operations Branch Revealed With AI-Powered Psychological Warfare Campaign Against Iran

BLUFMossad's deliberate public disclosure of its Iran influence infrastructure functions as a force multiplier, compelling Tehran to treat every future domestic protest as potentially fabricated and corroding internal trust at minimal Israeli cost.

Israel Hayom on May 28 cited an unnamed Mossad official identified as "O.," the branch's founder, who said Barnea created the unit in 2021 to pursue Iranian regime change, then a forbidden topic inside the organization 12. The branch runs a social media "poison machine" of fictitious accounts and AI-generated influencers designed to erode public support for the Iranian state 13. The report says Mossad held a 2011 photograph of IRGC commander Rostam Ghasemi embracing an unveiled woman in Malaysia and released it in November 2022 amid the Mahsa Amini protests; Ghasemi resigned within days 13. The Middle East Monitor flagged that Mossad sources in the same piece denied involvement in the December 2025 Tehran bazaar protests while the article confirmed standing infrastructure built to amplify Iranian domestic unrest 3.

Analysis
The disclosure functions as an influence operation: naming the branch's founder, infrastructure type, and purpose on the record signals the capability outlasts Barnea's tenure. Iran must now treat every protest since 2021 as potentially synthetic, a counterintelligence burden that generates distrust regardless of actual Mossad involvement. The denial of any connection to the December 2025 bazaar unrest, alongside confirmed amplification infrastructure, is analytically inconsistent and will draw IRGC scrutiny to officials tied to that episode. The account, sourced entirely to Israel Hayom with no independent corroboration, may instead be disinformation calibrated to inflate Iranian perception of penetration depth, since operational security norms prohibit naming an active program's founder and infrastructure type in a friendly newspaper.

3 sources

Secret Mossad branch revealed: 'We are not done with Iran. We are just getting started' - Israel Hayom
Mossad's secret war: Spy agency has special unit for psychological warfare in Iran - The Week
Israeli outlet owned by top Trump donor reveals Mossad influence operations inside Iran - Middle East Monitor