Israel said to use intelligence from Iranian civilians to target Basij checkpoints in Tehran

Drones struck checkpoints in Tehran Wednesday evening, killing several members of Iran’s security forces, including personnel linked to the Basij militia.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Israel has incorporated intelligence from Iranian civilians into its targeting process during the current war with Iran, with information transmitted through Israeli-run Persian-language social media channels and reviewed before strikes are authorized, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

According to the report, individuals inside Iran have been sending details about locations of regime security forces through these accounts. Israeli authorities first examine and verify the material before any military action is approved.

A senior Israeli security official told the newspaper that such information was used during operations Wednesday night, when an Israeli Hermes UAV carried out attacks on Basij checkpoints in Tehran.

Iranian state media reported that drones struck checkpoints in the capital Wednesday evening, killing several members of Iran’s security forces, including personnel linked to the Basij militia. Separate reports said multiple Basij members and other regime security personnel were killed in the strikes.

The Basij operates under Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and serves as a paramilitary volunteer force.

It has long played a key role in enforcing internal security and suppressing opposition to the clerical establishment.

Reporting on the campaign indicates that Israeli strikes in Tehran have increasingly focused on Basij-linked security infrastructure as part of operations directed at the regime’s internal enforcement network.

Opposition outlet Iran International reported that following overnight airstrikes between Wednesday and Thursday that reportedly killed dozens, Basij members in Tehran relocated to positions beneath bridges in an attempt to conceal themselves from additional attacks.

According to that reporting, the strikes targeted checkpoints, patrol deployments and local security posts used to maintain regime control in urban areas.

Israeli officials familiar with the operations said the campaign initially focused on Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities but has expanded to include regime security assets.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard intelligence organization accused its adversaries of attempting to create unrest. In a statement carried by Iranian media, it said “the enemy is desperate to achieve its goals and once again seeks to spread fear and street chaos,” warning that a harsher response than the suppression of protests on Jan. 8 awaits what it called the “new ISIS.”