CENTCOM Commander and four-star Navy general Admiral Brad Cooper has identified a threat that helps Iran target U.S. bases in the Middle East: cellphone footage.
Social media posts and videos posted online are giving the Iranians clues to our activities, the commander wrote in a letter Tuesday:
Admiral Brad Cooper, in a previously unreported letter, said Iran was 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."
"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," Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, wrote in his July 28 letter, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.
He called on troops to "redouble our focus on operational security," without prescribing specific steps in the memo.
Cooper's memo underscores the mounting tensions between real-time news reporting on the war, often aided by satellite imagery and first-person accounts, and the desire by the U.S. military to restrict any information that could aid Iran as it tries to kill and wound U.S.… https://t.co/0OBN2o1rtg
— Phil Stewart (@phildstewart) July 29, 2026
Cooper's memo underscores the mounting tensions between real-time news reporting on the war, often aided by satellite imagery and first-person accounts, and the desire by the U.S. military to restrict any information that could aid Iran as it tries to kill and wound U.S. troops.
Reuters Chief National Security reporter Phil Stewart reports that the IRGC can monitor the success of its attacks just by turning to the internet:
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— Phil Stewart (@phildstewart) July 29, 2026
Cooper says Iran benefits 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.”
“The direct, unavoidable… https://t.co/n8XSqcffHQ
MORE -
Cooper says Iran benefits 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.”“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"
MORE: Trump Lets Loose on Iran Over Sneak Attack - Explaining With Expletives What Will Happen Next
Iran Launches Surprise Attack on US Forces - Discovers That Wasn't a Good Idea
Some deployed personnel could soon be ordered to surrender their phones, the report said. This would obviously cut off troops from their families:
Any crackdown on mobile communications would add a new dimension to the conflict for the thousands of U.S. troops in the region, many of whom still rely on phones to periodically message loved ones and assure them they are well.
Cooper said Iran would be largely blind and unable to gauge the success of their attacks — except that online videos can clue them in:
"Iran knows the weapons were fired; however, their forces do not know if they missed by 50 meters, hit an empty tarmac, or successfully struck a crowded facility," he wrote.
"Detailed lists, descriptions, and analyzes of what was hit, openly published by news outlets are essentially performing Iran’s Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) for them, free of charge," Cooper said.
In one incident, a U.S. service member recorded a video showing soldiers running to safety during an Iranian attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan in mid-July. Cooper said the footage posted to Instagram was recorded with Meta smart glasses and showed the Iranians exactly how troops reacted and how some got to safety.
It might be time to turn off the phone.
Editor's Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.
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