Somebody Is Broadcasting Mystery Signals in Persian
(Getty/gsagi)
Posted For: Red Baron
“Attention” is the opening word of a mysterious radio transmission, repeated three times in Persian before a male voice begins reading a long stream of calm, seemingly random numbers. The broadcast has been going out twice a day on shortwave radio since Feb. 28, when U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran began. According to Wired, the signals were first highlighted by Priyom, a group that monitors military and intelligence communications.
The strange broadcasts have drawn the attention of radio enthusiasts because they resemble the old “numbers stations” used during the Cold War to send coded instructions. Radio Free Europe reports that the meaning of the numbers cannot be understood without a specific codebook, meaning only the intended recipients would know what the messages say. What remains unclear is who is transmitting the signals and who they are meant for.
Priyom’s analysis suggests the transmissions are coming from a U.S. military facility near Stuttgart, Germany. That location raises the possibility that the 52nd Strategic Signal Battalion could be connected to the broadcasts. However, no confirmation has been made, and the true source remains uncertain. Some observers speculate the signals could be messages sent by U.S. or Israeli intelligence to operatives. Others believe they might originate from Iranian agents communicating with their own networks.
The mystery deepened five days after the broadcasts began when someone attempted to interfere with the signal. The effort managed to disrupt the transmission briefly, though the jamming did not last long.
Radio expert Akin Fernandez said the situation suggests two sides are trying to work against each other. He noted that the key question is which side has the ability to jam a broadcast, though both the United States and Iran possess the technical capability to do so.
Former CIA officer John Sipher told Wired that while such radio transmissions may seem outdated today, they still serve a purpose. In an era dominated by satellites and encrypted apps, shortwave number broadcasts are slow and inefficient but extremely difficult to trace. Anyone with a basic radio can hear them, yet identifying who the message is meant for is nearly impossible.
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