Israel reportedly co-opted a popular Iranian prayer app Saturday to send mass notifications urging defections from the Islamic regime.
The BadeSaba Calendar app, utilizing its extensive reach inside Iran, helps users track daily prayer times and religious observances, the Wall Street Journal reported. It has logged more than 5 million downloads on the Google Play Store alone, giving operators access to a vast domestic audience.
Screenshots posted on social media show a burst of Persian-language notifications declaring “help has arrived.” The cyber operation apparently took place as Israel and the United States launched a sweeping waves of strikes against Iranian military and leadership targets, ultimately resulting in the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Israel hacked a popular Iranian prayer app to send notifications to potentially millions of phones Saturday morning urging the country’s military personnel to defect from the regime and join a fight to liberate the country. https://t.co/osIRvGSmrz
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) February 28, 2026
Should Israel's use of an Iranian prayer app for defection messages be supported as a tactic against the regime?
One of the push notifications reportedly targeted members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and regular army, urging them to abandon their posts.
“The era of the dictators is over. Do not sacrifice your lives for a regime that has already fallen. Lay down your arms and join your people. Help has arrived,” the notification said, the outlet reported.
Intelligence analysts view the breach as a calculated psychological operation, according to the outlet. By seizing control of a trusted religious utility app, the perpetrators bypassed state-controlled media channels and delivered defection messaging straight to personal devices widely used by soldiers and civilians alike.
President Donald Trump confirmed Khamenei was killed during the opening of the joint U.S.–Israeli military campaign, which Trump described as a “massive and ongoing” effort to cripple Iran’s military infrastructure. Prior to the operation, Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed members of the bipartisan Gang of Eight, a group made up of the House speaker, House minority leader, Senate majority and minority leaders, and the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate intelligence committees.
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