After the alleged assassination of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, many theories are emerging on the internet and social media. According to reports, America and Israel conducted a joint operation against Iran on Saturday, in which Khamenei was killed. It is being said that Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad had tracked his location, but there is little concrete information on how he was found. For this reason many claims and conspiracy stories are going viral.
Trump and Netanyahu’s statement
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in separate statements that this action was taken to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Trump described Khamenei as ‘the worst person in the history of the world’ on his Truth social platform. After his statement, there was a flood of conspiracy theories on social media.
‘Tooth Fairy’ theory
A user on social media platform X claimed that Mossad sent its agents posing as doctors and dentists to Iran. It is alleged that these people inserted tracking chips in the teeth of important military officers during treatment. It was also said in some posts that gastro doctors also installed similar devices in the body. However, no reliable evidence has been found to confirm this claim.
Theory of ‘spy’ in close circle
A thread on Reddit claimed that Iranian general and Quds Force commander Ismail Qani was working for Mossad and the CIA. The post said that Qani was at Khamenei’s house just before the attack and left before the attack. In some reports, it was also said that his relations with Mossad were being investigated or arrested, but this claim has not been fully proven yet.
hacking of traffic cameras
It was also said on social media that Israel had hacked Iran’s traffic cameras for many years and through these, Khamenei’s every activity was being monitored. This claim was later confirmed in American media reports. According to a Financial Times report, almost all traffic cameras in Tehran were hacked for years and their data was being sent to servers in Tel Aviv and southern Israel. A special camera angle also showed where the bodyguards park their vehicles and what their daily activities are like.
Hacking of prayer app ‘Baade Saba’
Another claim was that Israel hacked Iran’s popular prayer time app ‘Bade Saba’. More than 50 lakh downloads of this app are reported. According to Reuters, messages like ‘the time of reckoning has come’ were shown on this app and an appeal was made to the army to give up their weapons. Major media websites of Iran – IRNA, ISNA, Tabnak and Asr-e Iran have also been confirmed to have been hacked. This was said to be part of a strategy to create psychological pressure.
Which theory is correct and which is not?
While the hacking of traffic cameras and the cyber attack on the Prayer App have been confirmed, the theories of implanting chips in teeth and close officers being spies are still considered to be mere claims. Complete and official information on how Khamenei was tracked has still not been revealed.
