Israeli forces reportedly co-opted the popular Iranian prayer app BadeSaba Calendar on Saturday to send mass messages encouraging defections from the Islamic Republic. The app, designed to help users track daily prayer times and religious observances, has more than five million downloads on the Google Play Store, providing access to a broad domestic audience.

Screenshots shared on social media showed Persian-language notifications declaring “help has arrived,” coinciding with a series of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes against Iranian military and leadership targets that culminated in the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Some notifications specifically targeted members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and regular army units, urging them to abandon their posts.

One message reportedly read: “The era of the dictators is over. Do not sacrifice your lives for a regime that has already fallen. Lay down your arms and join your people. Help has arrived.” Analysts described the operation as a calculated psychological maneuver, using a trusted religious utility to bypass state-controlled media and reach soldiers and civilians directly.

President Donald Trump confirmed Khamenei’s death during the opening phase of the joint U.S.–Israeli campaign, which he described as a “massive and ongoing” effort to dismantle Iran’s military infrastructure. Prior to the strikes, Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed members of the bipartisan Gang of Eight, including congressional leaders and intelligence committee chairs and ranking members, on the planned operation.

The cyber component of the campaign reflects a new dimension of modern conflict, combining conventional military strikes with targeted psychological operations to undermine enemy morale and encourage defection from within Iran’s armed forces and security apparatus.