The eminent Iranian poet Hafez once remarked, “In the battlefield of 72 nations, every action finds its justification; When they fail to perceive reality, they turn to the door of imagination and illusion.”
Narratives about great wars and heroes are often characterized by a lack of access to authentic history. In the modern era, it was assumed that the age of myths and fantasies had passed and that facts could be accurately recorded and presented to public opinion. Postmodern philosophy, however, questions the possibility of accessing true reality.
Jean Baudrillard, a French philosopher, contributed to the discussion with his assertion that the 1991 Gulf War, when a U.S.-led coalition expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait in a matter of days, did not take place in the conventional sense. According to his theory of hyperreality, media, and technological simulations created a reality perceived by the public as more real than what actually happened.
Iran’s April 13, 2024 massive aerial assault on Israel, in response to Israel’s assassination of seven Iranian officers in Damascus on April 1, resembled the Gulf War in its theatricality and the psychological media operations employed by both parties to the conflict.
In an unusual move, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) issued a premature statement declaring that in response to “Israeli crimes,” the IRGC Aerospace Force, along with other forces, successfully hit targets inside Israel with dozens of missiles and drones. This announcement was made before those projectiles had even entered Israeli airspace, suggesting an intent to use the operation for propaganda, irrespective of the actual military outcome.
Immediately following the conclusion of Iran’s military operation, which according to Western media failed to kill anyone or even do much physical damage, a major conflict erupted in the press and on social media platforms. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency asserted that the Israeli Iron Dome system failed to intercept Iranian ballistic missiles equipped with cluster warheads. Concurrently, some Iranian social media activists disseminated videos showing missiles striking an Israeli military base.
Conversely, Israeli sources said that 99 percent of the Iranian threats were neutralized. They published videos on social media depicting successful interceptions, claiming only minor casualties and damage resulted from the confrontation.
Amid the intense exchanges on virtual platforms, several instances of misinformation emerged aimed at shifting the discursive balance in favor of one side or the other. Some social media accounts shared videos with unfounded claims, ostensibly showing explosions resulting from an Iranian missile attack. In fact, one video depicted Ukrainian missiles targeting Russian ships in Sevastopol on March 23. Meanwhile, another video, published by the Iranian newspaper Jam-e Jam, was of a fire in Texas, not Israel.
A report by Al Jazeera indicates that Arab social media figures were divided: some supported Iran’s attack, claiming that it provided Palestinians with a brief respite after a 190-day conflict that has killed more than 33,000 people, as Tel Aviv was momentarily distracted by the Iranian threat. Others, however, viewed the Iranian operation as a total failure and a blow to Iran’s military reputation.
In the Iranian diaspora, Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last Shah of Iran, stated in a post on Twitter/X that there is no war between the people of Iran and Israel. He blamed the conflict on Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and said Iranians would bear the costs.
Ali Karimi, a former Iranian soccer star, described the Iranian attack as mere “fireworks” and highlighted solidarity between Iranian dissidents and Israel. Masih Alinejad, an Iranian-American human rights activist, condemned Iran’s aggression towards Israel and called for the IRGC to be designated as a terrorist organization.
However, the barrage of Iranian missiles and drones directed toward Israel drew applause from many Palestinians in Gaza, according to Reuters.
At the end of the day, both the Iranian and the Western-Israeli camps appeared satisfied, as evidenced by reactions on social media platforms. Reality had been overshadowed by narratives with minimal regard for what happened on the ground.
Portraying the successful interception of the Iranian onslaught as a major victory, U.S. President Joe Biden suggested that further Israeli responses were unnecessary.
Meanwhile, Iranian authorities had demonstrated to their hardliner base that the Islamic regime possesses the will as well as the capacity to launch an unprecedented massive attack on Israel, the likes of which have not been seen since the Six-Day War between Israel and Arab states in 1973.
Pro-regime Iranians took to the streets and celebrated throughout the night. They captured the historic moment with videos and photos of Iranian missiles roaring across Israeli skies.
Analyzing the recent escalation between Tehran and Tel Aviv purely in terms of binary outcomes is overly simplistic, as the implications are both political and military. Politically, Iran’s unprecedented launch of a significant volume of homemade drones and missiles, despite warnings from Israel and the United States—both nuclear powers—was a robust display of self-confidence by the Islamic Republic. Still, accurately assessing the damage in and to Israel is difficult; Iranian sources tend to exaggerate the extent, while Israeli accounts minimize it.
To date, Israeli-American sources have reported minimal damage, and Biden has informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. will refrain from participating in any retaliatory strikes against Iran and suggested that Israel “take the win.” Nevertheless, if Israel’s April 1 attack was strategically designed to provoke Iran—and, by extension, the United States—into conflict, Israel now has a plausible reason to heighten tensions further.
Mohammad Mazhari is a political scientist who served as editor-in-chief of the Arabic Mehr News Agency from 2013-2020 and as a journalist at the Tehran Times from 2020-2021. Twitter/X: @epicoria
Iran and Israel Use Media and Propaganda to Try to Shape Post-Attack Reality
By Mohammad Mazhari
Middle East & North Africa
The eminent Iranian poet Hafez once remarked, “In the battlefield of 72 nations, every action finds its justification; When they fail to perceive reality, they turn to the door of imagination and illusion.”
Narratives about great wars and heroes are often characterized by a lack of access to authentic history. In the modern era, it was assumed that the age of myths and fantasies had passed and that facts could be accurately recorded and presented to public opinion. Postmodern philosophy, however, questions the possibility of accessing true reality.
Jean Baudrillard, a French philosopher, contributed to the discussion with his assertion that the 1991 Gulf War, when a U.S.-led coalition expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait in a matter of days, did not take place in the conventional sense. According to his theory of hyperreality, media, and technological simulations created a reality perceived by the public as more real than what actually happened.
Iran’s April 13, 2024 massive aerial assault on Israel, in response to Israel’s assassination of seven Iranian officers in Damascus on April 1, resembled the Gulf War in its theatricality and the psychological media operations employed by both parties to the conflict.
In an unusual move, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) issued a premature statement declaring that in response to “Israeli crimes,” the IRGC Aerospace Force, along with other forces, successfully hit targets inside Israel with dozens of missiles and drones. This announcement was made before those projectiles had even entered Israeli airspace, suggesting an intent to use the operation for propaganda, irrespective of the actual military outcome.
Immediately following the conclusion of Iran’s military operation, which according to Western media failed to kill anyone or even do much physical damage, a major conflict erupted in the press and on social media platforms. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency asserted that the Israeli Iron Dome system failed to intercept Iranian ballistic missiles equipped with cluster warheads. Concurrently, some Iranian social media activists disseminated videos showing missiles striking an Israeli military base.
Conversely, Israeli sources said that 99 percent of the Iranian threats were neutralized. They published videos on social media depicting successful interceptions, claiming only minor casualties and damage resulted from the confrontation.
Amid the intense exchanges on virtual platforms, several instances of misinformation emerged aimed at shifting the discursive balance in favor of one side or the other. Some social media accounts shared videos with unfounded claims, ostensibly showing explosions resulting from an Iranian missile attack. In fact, one video depicted Ukrainian missiles targeting Russian ships in Sevastopol on March 23. Meanwhile, another video, published by the Iranian newspaper Jam-e Jam, was of a fire in Texas, not Israel.
A report by Al Jazeera indicates that Arab social media figures were divided: some supported Iran’s attack, claiming that it provided Palestinians with a brief respite after a 190-day conflict that has killed more than 33,000 people, as Tel Aviv was momentarily distracted by the Iranian threat. Others, however, viewed the Iranian operation as a total failure and a blow to Iran’s military reputation.
In the Iranian diaspora, Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last Shah of Iran, stated in a post on Twitter/X that there is no war between the people of Iran and Israel. He blamed the conflict on Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and said Iranians would bear the costs.
Ali Karimi, a former Iranian soccer star, described the Iranian attack as mere “fireworks” and highlighted solidarity between Iranian dissidents and Israel. Masih Alinejad, an Iranian-American human rights activist, condemned Iran’s aggression towards Israel and called for the IRGC to be designated as a terrorist organization.
However, the barrage of Iranian missiles and drones directed toward Israel drew applause from many Palestinians in Gaza, according to Reuters.
At the end of the day, both the Iranian and the Western-Israeli camps appeared satisfied, as evidenced by reactions on social media platforms. Reality had been overshadowed by narratives with minimal regard for what happened on the ground.
Portraying the successful interception of the Iranian onslaught as a major victory, U.S. President Joe Biden suggested that further Israeli responses were unnecessary.
Meanwhile, Iranian authorities had demonstrated to their hardliner base that the Islamic regime possesses the will as well as the capacity to launch an unprecedented massive attack on Israel, the likes of which have not been seen since the Six-Day War between Israel and Arab states in 1973.
Pro-regime Iranians took to the streets and celebrated throughout the night. They captured the historic moment with videos and photos of Iranian missiles roaring across Israeli skies.
Analyzing the recent escalation between Tehran and Tel Aviv purely in terms of binary outcomes is overly simplistic, as the implications are both political and military. Politically, Iran’s unprecedented launch of a significant volume of homemade drones and missiles, despite warnings from Israel and the United States—both nuclear powers—was a robust display of self-confidence by the Islamic Republic. Still, accurately assessing the damage in and to Israel is difficult; Iranian sources tend to exaggerate the extent, while Israeli accounts minimize it.
To date, Israeli-American sources have reported minimal damage, and Biden has informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. will refrain from participating in any retaliatory strikes against Iran and suggested that Israel “take the win.” Nevertheless, if Israel’s April 1 attack was strategically designed to provoke Iran—and, by extension, the United States—into conflict, Israel now has a plausible reason to heighten tensions further.
Mohammad Mazhari is a political scientist who served as editor-in-chief of the Arabic Mehr News Agency from 2013-2020 and as a journalist at the Tehran Times from 2020-2021. Twitter/X: @epicoria
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