U.S. troops may be banned from having phones
Some American service members in the Middle East may be ordered to hand over their cell phones over concerns that posting videos filmed on them to social media will help Iran more effectively target U.S. facilities.
This was reported by the Reuters news agency.
According to its information, U.S. Navy Admiral Brad Cooper addressed service members in a letter that speaks of the risks of publishing such information. Iran could use videos and images from social media to assess the effectiveness of its attacks in real time, the text states. According to Cooper, publishing such data could "cost the lives of American service members and civilians" in the countries of the Persian Gulf. Cooper called on service members to "pay more attention to operational security," but did not spell out specific measures.
Reuters sources reported that some U.S. service members in Jordan were ordered to hand over their phones in the coming days. One of the agency's interlocutors said that this measure could also be applied in other countries of the region.
As the agency notes, earlier this month a video appeared online showing American soldiers running for cover after an Iranian strike on an air base in Jordan. The video was filmed by one of the service members using smart glasses made by the company Meta.
