[UPDATE-Day #29] Protest Deaths Top 36,500 as US Fleet Nears and Khamenei Goes Underground

Iran-linked influence campaign targeted Western debate on uprising An independent research group said on Saturday it had identified a large, coordinated social media influence operation it linked to the Islamic Republic, aimed at shaping global narratives and suppressing dissent during the country’s uprising. Golden Owl, an open-source intelligence research initiative, said its investigation found thousands of coordinated accounts on X and Instagram working in support of the Iranian state, amplifying regime narratives while targeting opposition voices. The group said it analyzed nearly 8,000 account records on X, identifying more than 7,500 unique accounts operating in what it described as a…