Iranian authorities have introduced a reporting system aimed at gathering information on Iranians living outside the country, raising concerns among dissidents and analysts about an effort to extend Tehran’s surveillance apparatus beyond Iran’s borders.

The initiative, called Alaj, reportedly encouraged people to submit information about Iranians abroad whom they believed were working against Iran’s interests or national security. Reports said submissions could be made through a dedicated website, a Telegram bot and Iran’s Bale messaging platform. Iranian state television and the Revolutionary Guard-linked Fars News Agency reportedly publicized the program.

An Iranian official familiar with the initiative confirmed to Fox News Digital that Alaj and its Telegram chatbot were established to collect information about Iranians living overseas. The official said the website was later taken offline following criticism within Iran.

Iran International reported that the system claimed to have identified approximately 1,600 people, with about 600 allegedly located through information supplied by members of the public. Those figures have not been independently confirmed. The outlet also reported that information displayed through the system included names and photographs, while some listings allegedly contained national identification numbers, birth dates and fathers’ names.

Iranian-American journalist and foreign-policy analyst Lisa Daftari said the significance of the campaign goes beyond the collection of personal information. In her view, the initiative could create a climate in which Iranians abroad fear that fellow members of the diaspora might report them to authorities.

“Even if it’s just the perception that other Iranians can report you or can get you in trouble or that this app exists, it makes a lot of people fearful,” Daftari told Fox News Digital. “You’ll think twice before going to that next protest.”

She said those concerns can be particularly serious for people who continue to have relatives in Iran. Public political activity abroad, she argued, could potentially expose family members inside the country to pressure or retaliation.

“Now your face could be captured, you can get in trouble,” she said. “If you have family in Iran, they can get into trouble.”

Daftari characterized the campaign as a modern, digital version of a longstanding method of social control in Iran, where people may fear that neighbors, colleagues or acquaintances could report them to authorities.

“Now the regime wants to take this show on the road and do that here, here in the West,” Daftari said. “They want to intimidate people. And it works.”

Daftari said she has personally experienced intimidation that she believes has been connected to her public criticism of the Iranian government. She described being followed, targeted by hacking attempts and approached in person in several U.S. cities.

“I’ve been followed, I’ve been hacked multiple times, I have been approached in person in L.A., in New York, even at the airport,” she told Fox News Digital.

She previously said a major cyberattack compromised both her social-media accounts and personal and professional email. Following that incident, she said she was contacted by the FBI and subsequently worked with federal investigators.

According to Daftari, hackers also obtained private vacation photographs and sent them to her husband. She said the purpose was to demonstrate that those targeting her could locate and reach her.

“The message they want to send is very clear, that we know where you are, we can reach you,” she said. “And obviously the point is to intimidate and silence those who speak out, who report, who speak the truth and talk about all the crimes of this regime.”

She argued that intimidation can affect ordinary members of the Iranian-American community as well as prominent activists and journalists. Daftari recalled filming at a Los Angeles cafe where Iranian Americans were watching a World Cup match and seeing people deliberately avoid appearing on camera because they feared relatives in Iran could face consequences.

That experience, she said, demonstrates how surveillance and the fear of surveillance can influence behavior even when individuals have no way of knowing whether information about them has actually been reported.

The campaign has also affected Daftari’s own approach to personal security. She said she has become more conscious of where she parks, what information she makes public and potential vulnerabilities at locations she visits.

She recalled the difficulty of publicly announcing the location of her father’s memorial service after his death while simultaneously worrying about security.

“It does silence a lot of people and it does change the freedom by which we think we can operate here in the United States where we believe we have full freedom,” Daftari said.

“Their intimidation works,” she added. “It works to a certain extent on each individual.”

Daftari said Americans should view such activity as part of a broader confrontation with the Iranian regime rather than focusing exclusively on Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

“It’s not just about nuclear weapons, it’s about a deadly ideology that has made its way here to U.S. soil,” she said. “We have to understand that.”