Iran Leverages AI To Expand Influence Operations
Tehran is increasingly using artificial intelligence to enhance covert influence and cyber operations targeting Israel and Western societies, analysts told The Press Service of Israel on Jan. 19, 2026. State directives and new AI institutions, plus IRGC interest, have formalized AI as a national priority, enabling groups like STORM 2035, CyberAv3ngers and APT42 to scale multilingual disinformation, phishing and reconnaissance. Experts say this increases verification challenges and election-interference risks abroad.
Key Points
- 1Uses AI to generate multilingual personas, deepfakes, and content for coordinated disinformation campaigns
- 2Formalizes AI nationally via legislation and IRGC adoption, increasing institutional capacity and strategic coordination
- 3Complicates verification and election security, requiring enhanced public awareness, detection tools, and cross-border cooperation
Scoring Rationale
Solid reporting with credible sources and operational details, limited novelty beyond confirming institutionalization of Iran's AI efforts.
Sources
Public references used for this report.
Practice interview problems based on real data
1,625 SQL & Python problems across 15 industry datasets — the exact type of data you work with.
Try 250 free problems
