Iranian state TV

Summary

Anti‑regime activists compromised Iran’s Badr satellite, gaining access to Iranian state TV and broadcasting a video that featured exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi urging Iranians to protest against the Islamic Republic, alongside footage of global solidarity protests and messages of support from international leaders. The hijacked transmission, which lasted roughly ten minutes, included calls for the country’s military and security forces to join the demonstrators and was subsequently shared by Pahlavi’s media office.

Motives

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TTPs

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Description

Anti-regime activists hacked Iran’s Badr satellite on Sunday, gaining unauthorized access to the country’s state television channels. The compromised signal was used to broadcast a video featuring exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi at approximately 9:30 p.m. Israel time, as reported by Israel’s public broadcaster KAN News. KAN News noted that the hijacked transmission lasted about ten minutes before the signal was restored. The broadcast marked a direct interruption of Iran’s regular state TV programming.

The video included messages in Farsi urging protesters to continue their activities, interspersed with footage of solidarity demonstrations held in various countries around the world. It also displayed statements of support from international leaders who voiced backing for the protest movement. Within the same broadcast, Pahlavi delivered a statement calling for further protests and specifically appealed to Iran’s military and security forces to side with the demonstrators. Iran International reported that this appeal to the armed forces was a distinct element of Pahlavi’s message during the hijacked airing. The footage was additionally shared by Pahlavi’s media department and circulated through anti‑regime outlets.

The incident represented a propaganda breach of Iran’s state media infrastructure, highlighting the vulnerability of satellite‑based broadcast systems to external intrusion. Detection and reporting of the hijack came from KAN News, which provided the timing and duration details, and from Iran International, which elaborated on the content of Pahlavi’s call to the military. No further information regarding technical remediation, official Iranian responses, or subsequent actions is available in the provided source material.

Sources

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