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Iranian state TV hijacked with Trump, Netanyahu message urging citizens to 'seize control'
Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Iranian state TV hijacked with Trump, Netanyahu message urging citizens to 'seize control'

'Seize control of your destiny.'

Iran’s state broadcaster was taken over on Sunday, according to reports, by what appeared to be a coordinated cyber operation airing messages from President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urging Iranians to rise up against their government.

The interruption struck feeds operated by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, including its widely viewed TV3 channel. Viewers inside Iran recorded the moment on their phones, and the footage quickly spread across social media.

'Unleash the glorious and prosperous future that is close within your reach.'

Video circulating online show clips featuring Trump and Netanyahu accompanied by Persian subtitles calling on citizens to take action against the ruling regime.

The disruption reportedly lasted roughly 30 seconds before the signal cut to black and regular programming resumed.

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Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images

Video widely shared on X shows Trump at a podium wearing a “USA” cap, delivering remarks translated into Farsi. In the video Trump encouraged Iranian citizens to “seize control of your destiny” and “unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach.”

Netanyahu’s segment, according to clips and reposts, described what he called a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Iranians to change their government and cast off what he referred to as the yoke of tyranny.

Iranian authorities have not publicly confirmed the intrusion or identified who was responsible. There has been no official statement from IRIB acknowledging the disruption.

Conservative commentator Nick Sortor wrote that Iran State TV had reportedly been hacked and was showing a message from President Trump calling on Iranians to rise up against the regime. His post quickly amassed tens of thousands of likes and more than a million views.

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Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images

Satellite monitoring groups and regional outlets reported the disruption based on viewer videos and feed anomalies, though independent verification of the source of the intrusion remains limited.

If confirmed as an external cyber operation, the intrusion would mark a rare instance of a foreign leader’s call for regime change appearing on a state-controlled television network inside an authoritarian country. During the Cold War, Western governments used outlets such as Voice of America to broadcast into countries behind the Iron Curtain. Interrupting a regime’s domestic television feed would represent a more direct form of information warfare than traditional cross-border broadcasting.

For now, Iranian state television has resumed normal programming.

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