By Staff Writer, Iran Probe
Tehran’s Cyber Footprint in Fake Accounts
In recent years, the Iranian regime, facing deep domestic crises and unprecedented international isolation, has invested heavily in psychological and cyber warfare. One clear example of these efforts is a virtual account on the social network X (formerly Twitter) under the name “Alireza Niknam” (@AlirezaNiknamS). Technical investigations show that, contrary to outward claims, this account is directed straight from inside Iran through an Android application connected to internal networks. The main goal of this fake account is to produce offensive content and spread falsehoods against the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), particularly its members in Ashraf 3 located in Albania. This method is part of Tehran’s coordinated strategy to character-assassinate its opponents in cyberspace.
Rented Media Network from Tehran to Tirana
The articles and materials produced by this fake persona under the name “Alireza Niknam” are mainly published on an obscure Albanian-language website called “Gazeta Impakt”. Investigations show that this website belongs to one of the Iranian regime’s local mercenaries in Albania named “Olsi Jazexhi“. According to former agents of the regime’s Ministry of Intelligence, Jazexhi receives payments directly from the regime’s security apparatuses to advance the lines dictated by Tehran in the Balkans. Once published on Gazeta Impakt, the content produced by this cyber network is republished by the regime’s official media inside Iran under the false title of “important Albanian press” to form a cycle of falsehoods against the main opposition of the regime.
Who created account, Alireza Niknam in social media?
The Regime’s Fear of Uprising and the Reason for Focusing on Demonization
The fundamental question is: why does the Iranian regime focus so heavily on demonizing the Mojahedin under current circumstances? While the cycle of increasing executions of political prisoners in Iran accelerates daily, the regime is weakened in the swamp of regional wars and is struggling for its survival. In a situation where the fear of an uprising by the masses of people has robbed the regime’s leaders of sleep, focusing on a force thousands of kilometers away from Iran’s borders demonstrates the regime’s deep dread of the potential for overthrow and an organized alternative. Tehran attempts to incite Albanian public opinion against the Mojahedin using pawns like Olsi Jazexhi and fake accounts under the name “Alireza Niknam”. However, historic Albanian hospitality and the friendly relationship of the Albanian people with the Mojahedin are far stronger than what the Iranian regime’s local agents and its security cyber-actors can influence with lies.
Exposing the identity of the author of articles and fake accounts like “Alireza Niknam” and their direct connection to local mercenaries like Olsi Jazexhi lifts the curtain on the extreme weakness of the ruling regime in Iran. Tehran’s intelligence tricks have lost their effectiveness, and the international community and public opinion are aware of the backstage of these deceptive games. The attempt to destroy the democratic alternative is only a testament to the reality that the regime has no solution for its survival other than domestic suppression and spreading lies abroad.
