CIA launches fresh social media push to recruit Iranians as Trump threatens military action

WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) – The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has posted on social media new Farsi-language instructions for Iranians wishing to securely contact the spy service.

The CIA recruitment effort comes amid a massive buildup of U.S. military forces in the Middle East that President Donald Trump could order to attack Iran if talks with the U.S. set for Thursday fail to reach a deal on Tehran’s nuclear program.

Trump began laying out the case for a possible U.S. operation in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, saying he would not allow the Islamic Republic, which he called the world’s biggest sponsor of terrorism, to have a nuclear weapon. Iran denies seeking a nuclear arsenal.

The CIA posted its Farsi-language message on Tuesday on its X, Instagram, Facebook, Telegram and YouTube accounts.

The message is the latest in a series by the CIA aimed at enlisting sources in Iran, China, North Korea and Russia.

The agency urged Iranians wishing to make contact to “take appropriate action” to protect themselves before doing so and avoid using work computers or their phones.

“Use a new, disposable device, if possible” and “be aware of your surroundings and who may be able to see your screen or activity,” continued the message, adding that those who make contact, provide their locations, names, job titles and “access to information or skills of interest to our agency.”

Those individuals, said the message, should use a trusted Virtual Private Network “not headquartered in Russia, Iran or China,” or the Tor Network, which encrypts data and hides the user’s IP address.

The CIA declined to comment. Iran’s delegation to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are scheduled to meet Iranian officials led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Geneva on Thursday for a new round of negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program.

Trump has threatened military action if the talks fail to reach an agreement, or if Tehran executes people arrested for participating in nationwide anti-government demonstrations in January.

Rights groups say thousands of people were killed in the government crackdown on the protests, the worst domestic unrest in Iran since the era of its 1979 Islamic Revolution.

(Reporting by Jonathan Landay; Editing by Don Durfee and Bill Berkrot)