A Mysterious Signal Began Transmitting as the Iran War Erupted—Now Someone is Jamming It

Micah Hanks·

numbers station

Welcome to this edition of The Intelligence Brief… This week, a mysterious shortwave “numbers station” broadcast that emerged in the early hours of the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran is raising new questions about covert communications in modern warfare. In our analysis, we’ll be looking at 1) how the newly detected Persian-language transmissions—believed to be a rare modern example of Cold War-style intelligence signaling—appeared within hours of the conflict’s onset, 2) the escalating “radio battle” involving attempts to jam and relocate the signal across frequencies, 3) competing theories over whether the broadcasts originate from Iran or its adversaries, and 4) why, despite today’s digital communications, older technologies like shortwave radio may still play a critical role during conflicts marked by disrupted networks and heightened secrecy.

Quote of the Week

“Tavajjoh! Tavajjoh! Tavajjoh!”

– Unknown Announcer In “V32” Shortwave Transmissions

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Mysterious Transmissions

In the early hours of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, a mysterious shortwave radio signal began broadcasting from an unknown location.

The broadcasts feature a man speaking mostly in Persian, although with the occasional inclusion of English language words, as a series of random numbers are conveyed, followed by the word tavajjoh, meaning “attention,” spoken three times before each transmission ends.

An artifact of the Cold War, the short radio dispatches that began just twelve hours after the onset of the conflict in Iran represent what radio experts refer to as a numbers station—a form of shortwave radio transmissions that broadcast random number sequences with the likely purpose of conveying information to intelligence officers in foreign nations.

Dozens of these mysterious broadcasts have appeared over the decades, and Internet Archive even features a collection of recordings from them, known as The Conet Project, which can be found here. However, the recent Persian language mystery broadcast represents the first “new” numbers station that has been detected in some time.

So what do we know about the mystery signals, and what do they likely mean in relation to the conflict in Iran?

Strange Signals from Unknown Signalers

Like a holdover from days of conflict long past, the spotty signals are dispatched each morning and evening on Coordinated Universal Time. Each recording features the unknown speaker counting off a series of numbers, sometimes at slightly varying intervals and over differing periods in overall length.

Since its detection, the global community of radio enthusiasts has taken interest in the mysterious broadcasts, according to a report on the odd transmissions by Radio Free Europe (RFE).

However, not long after the transmissions began, an unknown party appears to have taken notice and have been taking action, which has led to a secretive battle, of sorts, that has erupted across shortwave radio frequencies.

Bubble Jamming

Within a week of the onset of the mystery broadcasts, on March 4, someone began jamming the transmissions.

This much was evident from the noise overlaid across the broadcasts, which, as the jammers had intended, obscured the signal enough that the numbers being read were no longer discernible.

Following the initial jamming of the signal, the shortwave broadcasts vanished, then reappeared again—this time on an entirely different frequency. Obviously, a war for the airwaves had ensued between two parties, with one sending its mysterious signals to its operatives, and the other attempting to prevent it from doing so.

Possible Scenarios

A range of theories exists about the source of the transmissions, which have been informally nicknamed V32 by the British online numbers station tracking community ENIGMA 2000.

The most likely interpretation of the situation is that the signal is being broadcast by Iran, according to Akin Fernandez, an expert on number stations and the driving force behind The Conet Project, who told RFE that if this were the case, the United States would probably be behind the efforts to jam the signal.

However, another possibility does exist, according to experts like Fernandez. The signals, despite being broadcast in the Persian language, could be from a transmission source operated by the U.S. or one of its allies, and the jammers would therefore most likely be Iranian. One element that supports this possibility is the specific type of jamming that has attempted to block the signal—a variety of “bubble” jammers that appeared on 7910 kHz, which some experts believe are most likely linked to Iranian broadcast jamming efforts due in part to their characteristic sound.

A Holdover from the Cold War

It is somewhat unusual for shortwave radio transmissions to be used in this manner, especially in an era where encrypted communications networks can be managed from smartphone apps. However, with widespread interruption to internet service throughout the Middle East because of the ongoing conflict, stemming both from state-imposed shutdowns, as well as targeting of critical undersea cables, it’s not surprising that an “old school” approach like this would be deployed under such circumstances.

Additionally, the randomized sequences that numbers stations use are a simple but highly effective means of conveying communications across long distances while remaining virtually indecipherable. Fernandez told RFE that such transmissions are immune to brute force attacks or other efforts to crack their underlying code.

While their specific messaging remains mysterious, their purpose can still be determined, he said, based on factors that include the length of time they are online, as well as certain sounds they transmit and, of course, the timing of their appearance—in this case, within 12 hours of the onset of Operation Epic Fury.

Last month, it was reported by ABC News that the U.S. had intercepted encrypted communications that officials suspect of having originated from within Iran, prompting an alert sent to law enforcement agencies about the possibility of their use as triggers for “sleeper assets” in other countries, which might include the United States.

Although it is unclear if there is any relationship between the mysterious V32 signal and the alert sent to law enforcement last month, one thing does remain clear: even at the height of the modern digital age, in times of conflict, sometimes a few holdovers from decades past will see a return to service, and that certainly seems to be the case here.

That concludes this week’s installment of The Intelligence Brief. You can read past editions of our newsletter at our website, or if you found this installment online, don’t forget to subscribe and get future email editions from us here. Also, if you have a tip or other information you’d like to send along directly to me, you can email me at micah [@] thedebrief [dot] org, or reach me on X: @MicahHanks.

That concludes this week’s installment of The Intelligence Brief. You can read past editions of our newsletter at our website, or if you found this installment online, don’t forget to subscribe and get future email editions from us here. Also, if you have a tip or other information you’d like to send along directly to me, you can email me at micah [@] thedebrief [dot] org, or reach me on X: @MicahHanks.

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