Iran's Khamenei on drugs, sleeps all day, alleges Mossad-linked account

A social media account reportedly linked to Israel's national intelligence agency, Mossad, stirred controversy with a sharply worded post aimed at Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, accusing him of being unfit to rule and using drugs. The verified Persian-language account, known as @MossadSpokesman, is widely seen as an official Mossad channel targeting Iranian audiences, though Israel has not officially confirmed its ownership.

The account has been a pain in the neck for Iran, provoking the regime by revealing classified information and even quizzing the public to guess top-secret details.

"How can a leader lead when they sleep half the day and spend the other half high on substances? Water, electricity, life," posted the Persian account called @MossadSpokesman account on X on Friday.

While the message stopped short of explicitly naming Khamenei, its meaning was widely understood, especially given the account's history of addressing Iran's political leadership. The phrase "Water, electricity, life" apparently referred to mounting frustrations within Iran over long-standing infrastructure problems, including severe water shortages and rolling blackouts – issues that have fuelled waves of domestic protests in recent years.

The post had drawn over 180,000 views within 48 hours.

During last month's 12-day Israel-Iran conflict, the account publicly challenged Iran's secrecy over the identity of a new military commander, correctly revealing Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi as the appointee.

THE ACCOUNT HAS BEEN 'PROVOCATIVE' IN THE PAST TOO

Earlier, the social media account questioned the leadership's suitability over alleged drug use.

"Consuming drugs and conversing with spirits are not desirable traits for someone leading a country," the account wrote on July 9, US's Fox News reported.

Though the post did not mention Ayatollah Khamenei by name, its tone and content were broadly understood to target the 86-year-old Supreme Leader.

The posts are originally written in Persian and auto-translated for wider visibility.

The account, also known as "Mossad Farsi", has shown an increasingly provocative online presence. Though Israel has not officially confirmed its ownership, the account is widely regarded as an official messaging channel of the Mossad targeting Iranian audiences, a Rishon Lezion-based Israeli news outlet, Ynetnews, reported.

ACCOUNT WAS ACTIVE DURING ISRAEL's OPERATION RISING LION

During Israel's Operation Rising Lion last month, another post from the account stirred a controversy.

After Israel's opening strike during the conflict, which killed Gholam Ali Rashid, the head of the Khatam al-Anbiya military command, and with his successor Ali Shadmani also eliminated shortly after, Tehran declined to disclose the identity of the new appointee. In a provocative move, the Persian account responded by saying that it knew his actual name and asked netizens to guess the appointee’s name.

"The Tasnim news agency announced that the Iranian regime will not publish the name of the new commander of Khatam al-Anbiya in order to protect him. Know that we know his actual name and are well acquainted with him. Unfortunately, such basic information is being hidden from the Iranian people. Please send us your guesses regarding his name," the post read.

More than 2,300 users responded. Some offered guesses, including high-profile Iranian officials and even Mojtaba Khamenei, the Supreme Leader's son. Others responded with threats or ridicule, according to Ynetnews.

The following day, the Persian account replied to Iranian social media user Behnam Golipour, who accurately identified the new commander as Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi – a former deputy head of the IRGC Air Force and a sanctioned figure from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s presidency.

"The lucky winner who successfully guessed the ‘secret’ name is Mr. Behnam. Please contact us privately to receive your prize," the account wrote.

- Ends