CENTCOM Warns Iran Mining US Troops Social Media and Cellphone Footage for Near-Real-Time Battle Damage Assessment

Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, wrote in a July 28 letter that Iran is using troops' cellphone footage and social media posts to gauge whether its strikes succeeded, and called on troops to "redouble" operational security 1. Cooper wrote that while Iran knows a weapon was fired, without such footage its forces cannot tell whether it missed by 50 meters, hit an empty tarmac, or struck a crowded facility, and said journalists and open-source researchers were effectively conducting battle damage assessment for Tehran 12. Cooper cited Instagram video recorded on a service member's Meta smart glasses during the July 17 attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, which he said showed where and how the individual reached shelter 12. Two sources told Reuters some troops in Jordan have been told their phones will be confiscated in coming days, while a third said broader regional restrictions were under consideration but not certain 12. CENTCOM spokesperson Capt. Timothy Hawkins confirmed Cooper sent the message but declined to release it publicly, describing it as "a general reminder" on operational security rather than a policy announcement 23.