Iran Promoted Alaj to Track 1,600 Abroad, Then Removed Site After Backlash

1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 6

Iran rolled out Alaj, a website and chatbots on Telegram and Bale, to solicit reports on Iranians living abroad whom it cast as threats to national security.
Iran International said the system claimed to have identified 1,600 people, about 600 through public tips, and posted names, photos and sometimes national ID numbers and birth details; those figures were not independently verified.
An Iranian official source confirmed the program existed and said the website was later taken down after significant criticism inside Iran, though the reason for its suspension remains disputed.
Lisa Daftari, an Iranian-American journalist, said the bigger effect is fear: crowdsourced reporting can deter protests and expose relatives in Iran, reinforcing years of hacking, surveillance and in-person intimidation against critics abroad.
The episode points to a broader Iranian effort to extend domestic social control into Western countries by pressuring the diaspora, not just monitoring activity inside Iran.