Admiral Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, sent a letter to troops on July 28 warning that cellphone videos shared online help Iran target American bases. The communication indicates how Iran is targeting U.S. military personnel via their smartphones as the conflict in the region continues.

The warning follows an incident on July 17 when a video posted online showed a US service member recording soldiers running for shelter during an Iranian attack on the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. Admiral Cooper noted specific risks associated with such open-source intelligence, citing an instance where video captured from a service member's Meta glasses was posted on Instagram showing where and how the individual had evacuated to a bunker during an Iranian missile and drone attack.

U.S. forces struck dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets across Iran, including military command centers, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and defense sites, and maritime capabilities. Cooper explained that these strikes generate significant public attention that adversaries exploit. "Iran is benefiting from being able to see the success or failure of its strikes in near real-time by searching news reports or online posts by journalists referencing 'reactions, photos, and footage from the cellphones of our troops,'" he said.

The admiral wrote that detailed lists, descriptions, and analyses of what was hit, openly published by news outlets, are essentially performing Iran’s Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) for them, free of charge. He warned that detailed public disclosures can become an immediate green light for Iranian forces to launch a secondary, much more devastating wave of attacks.

In response to these vulnerabilities, some deployed personnel in Jordan could soon be ordered to surrender their phones. The command has identified other technical vectors for surveillance as well. Commercially available location data harvested from smartphones has been used to target or surveil US forces.

Additionally, signaling attacks leverage machine-to-machine messages that telecom networks use to check billing, verify location, and route traffic. An attacker with access to the global signaling backbone can track a target’s location in real-time, intercept calls and texts, use fake phone numbers, and deny service.

US Central Command spokesperson Captain Timothy Hawkins stated the message from Admiral Cooper is a general reminder to service members on the importance of maintaining operational security. Hawkins serves as a spokesperson for the command, which is a theater-level Unified Combatant Command of the U.S. Department of Defense responsible for the broader Middle East. Central Command was established in 1983.

The conflict with Iran has resulted in significant casualties since it began earlier this year. Some 18 US troops have died in the conflict with Iran that started on February 28. More than 600 US troops have been wounded in the fighting with Iran.

Cooper emphasized the human stakes of these security breaches. "The direct, unavoidable cost of this open-source intelligence could be measured in the lives of American service members and civilian residents in targeted Gulf countries," he said.

The use of personal devices in combat zones mirrors trends observed in other global conflicts. Ukrainian and Russian soldiers have been killed when their cell phones revealed their location during the war in Ukraine. In another instance of cellular network exploitation, Ukraine piloted drones deep within Russia using Russia’s own cellular networks to destroy military aircraft. PureSource News previously reported: Trump Administration Considers Military Strikes Against JNIM Terrorists in Mali.

The directive from U.S. Central Command reflects the evolving nature of modern warfare where civilian technology and open-source media directly impact military operational security. The command, responsible for U.S. military operations across the Middle East, faces a dual threat from both kinetic attacks by Iranian forces and the digital intelligence gathered from social media posts and news reports. The potential order for troops in Jordan to surrender their phones represents a significant shift in deployment protocols aimed at mitigating these risks.

The casualties incurred since February 28 highlight the tangible consequences of these security lapses. With 18 deaths and more than 600 wounds reported among U.S. troops, the command seeks to eliminate avenues that allow adversaries to assess strike damage and plan follow-up attacks. The integration of commercially available data and signaling vulnerabilities further complicates the protection of service members, requiring strict adherence to operational security measures to prevent further loss of life.