Back Techcrunch

Iran abused mobile networks’ vulnerabilities to locate U.S. military in the Middle East, report says

Techcrunch •Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai • July 14, 2026

The Iranian government abused well-known vulnerabilities in the global telecoms infrastructure to locate U.S. military personnel in the build-up to the Iran War, as well as in the early days of the conflict, according to The Financial Times .

Intelligence agencies have long abused SS7 to track cellphones abroad, which is what happened in this campaign.

Using this technique, Iran was reportedly able to locate U.S. military forces stationed in military bases as well as hotels in Iraq, Bahrain, and other countries in the Middle East, which allowed the regime to strike them. These attacks resulted in several injuries .

Apart from SS7, Iran also abused advertising technology used to serve tailored ads to cellphone users, another well-known surveillance technique that relies on everyday technology.

The full story

This article is one source in a clustered incident — the cluster page carries the summary, timeline and every other outlet covering it.

Iran Exploits Telecom Vulnerabilities to Track US Military Personnel Iranian government actors reportedly exploited vulnerabilities in global telecommunications infrastructure to locate U.S. military personnel during the lead-up to and early stages of the Iran War. The attacks utilized Signaling System 7 (SS7) protocols, which are crucial for routing calls and texts in 2G and 3G networks. This allowed Iran to track U.S. forces stationed in military bases and hotels across Iraq, Bahrain, and other Middle Eastern countries, leading to targeted strikes that resulted in injuries. Additionally, Iran leveraged commercial advertising technology to gather location data on U.S. personnel. The campaign raised significant concerns about the security of mobile networks and the potential for hostile surveillance. U.S. lawmakers are advocating for tighter safeguards against such vulnerabilities. The surveillance campaign reportedly began in late February 2026, coinciding with increased military tensions in the region. 8 sources 73

Iran abused mobile networks’ vulnerabilities to locate U.S. military in the Middle East, report says

The full story

Extracted Entities

Countries (3)

Platforms (2)