Photo: Matthijs Kuijpers, Getty Images.
The Senior Military Advisor of Iran, Hassan Firuzabadi, recently accused the United States of using “special lizards” to commit espionage. It is said that these “special lizards” can draw atomic waves with their skin. An intelligence officer has claimed they would do this to gain information on Iran’s nuclear program and uranium mines.
If this accusation proves to be true, it would not be the first time the U.S. has used animals for espionage. According to a declassified CIA document, the U.S. dabbled in training animals to be used as spies in the 1960s. The project, named Acoustic Kitty, attempted to embed a feline with listening devices. The antenna was disguised as the unfortunate cat’s tail and the microphone was hidden within the ear canal. Sadly, the project was a failure. The Acoustic Kitty’s first mission, to eavesdrop on a group of men sitting on a park bench, ended disastrously. The cat was on his way to get into position when he was run over by a taxi.
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This would also not be the first time Iran has accused other countries of training animals as spies. In 2007 the IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency) reported that they busted an undercover spy ring of squirrels. The intelligence officers allegedly detained 14 squirrels near the border of Iran. It was reported that all squirrels taken into custody were equipped with listening devices, cameras, and GPS tracking. The British Foreign Office responded, “The story is nuts.”
There are countless claims of animals being used as spies all over the world. From mine-seeking dolphins to insects with microscopic listening devices. It cannot be said if the “special lizards” were really trained to gather information on Iran’s nuclear activities, or if they are just paranoid following the underground squirrel ring fiasco.
