Pro-Iranian X Accounts Posing as Chinese, Russian, and North Korean

Iran has some imaginary friends.

The United States and Israel are grinding down Iran’s war machine while Tehran’s fellow travelers, China, Russia, and North Korea, have largely limited their support to diplomatic statements. But accounts on X falsely presenting themselves as outlets representing Iran’s partners are threatening Washington and Jerusalem with retaliation.

Transparency features on X show that these pro-Iranian accounts likely operate out of West Asia and pose as Chinese, Russian, and North Korean users. While the identity of the operators remains unclear, the accounts clearly serve Iranian interests by falsely presenting China, Russia, and North Korea as being more supportive of Iran than they actually are.

Accounts Offer Military Support That Russia, China, and North Korea Have Not Offered

There are five accounts seemingly posing as Chinese users, two posing as North Korean, and one posing as Russian. As of March 11, many of these accounts have significant followings. For example, @ChinaENX, despite being created in February 2026, has over 100,000 followers, and @tv_north72386 has over 32,000. Their posts often achieve significant engagement: for example, a post from March 11 from @tv_north72386 attributing an anti-American and anti-Israel quote to North Korea’s leader has already received over 1.5 million views and 60,000 likes.

The accounts largely post pro-Iranian regime content. For example, several share an apparently fabricated quote from North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, saying that he will support Iran with missile and even nuclear strikes. Many posts are also anti-Israel. One fabricates a statement from China’s foreign minister that Israel must be “dismantled” to prevent a third world war. Another claims that North Korea has arrested foreigners for being Zionists. One of the accounts presenting itself as Russian claims that China and Russia will take action against Israel if the Jewish state does not cease operations against Iran.

These accounts are often amplified by more overtly pro-Iranian accounts on X, five of which reposted the inauthentic Chinese, Russian, and North Korean posts on 123 occasions. In one case, @IBN_Now reposted @tv_north72386 59 times, while @IRAN_HD24 reposted the same account 32 times. This integration into a broader pro-Iranian social media ecosystem does not prove that the alleged Chinese, North Korean, and Russian accounts are Iranian, but it does show how they reinforce narratives that serve Iranian interests.

Why the Accounts Appear Coordinated and Inauthentic

Nearly all these pro-Iran accounts began posting after Operation Epic Fury began on February 28. The exception is ChinaliveX, which began posting one day before the operation. This suggests that the accounts’ operators activated them largely in response to the U.S.-Israel strikes.

As of March 11, these eight accounts have reposted each other’s content 286 times and posted identical content 132 times. This high frequency of reposts and identical posts suggests the accounts coordinate with each other.

All except for two of these accounts are labeled by X’s transparency features as either being based in West Asia or connecting to X via the West Asia Android app. This strongly undercuts the accounts presentation as Chinese, Russian, and North Korean.

At the same time, the exact location of the operators remains unclear. Several accounts source content from Iranian state media and Telegram channels, and one posted an English-language video overlaid with Persian subtitles. However, the accounts also draw from Turkish language media, Arabic language media, and state media channels from other countries, leaving no clear indicator of the operators’ exact location.

X Should Take Action Against These Accounts

Regardless of who operates these accounts — and whether they are doing so for political or commercial reasons — they are spreading disinformation and inflammatory claims, including nuclear threats, in a time of international crisis.

X recently announced a policy in which it claimed it would demonetize accounts sharing unlabeled AI-generated disinformation about warfare. Demonetizing accounts spreading false claims is not enough. Accounts like this should be deplatformed to avoid deceiving or manipulating people amid the fog of war.

Max Lesser is a senior analyst on emerging threats at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ (FDD’s) Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation (CCTI), where Kellie McSween is an intern. For more analysis from the authors and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow FDD on X @FDD and @FDD_CCTI. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on foreign policy and national security.