Link to Article: https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20260808-from-tehran-s-walls-to-the-world-iran-s-visual-propaganda-as-an-art-of-war-2-2
As its war with the United States rages on, Iran instated what almost every wartime power in history has done in some form or another: implemented state-sponsored, nationalistic propaganda. The Iranian government wanted to put a program in place that would not only inspire and empower their citizens, but also get the rest of the world talking. So, Iran has sponsored artists to create large murals or posters on the sides of large buildings across the city of Tehran. While journalists in Iran don’t usually have leeway to express their political ideas, these artists are more than encouraged to paint pictures demolishing other countries (the US and Israel) and uplift the Islamic Republic.
This intense sort of propaganda during wartime can only mean one thing: Iran is not ashamed of any of the actions it has taken against the US or Israel. Whether it is the poster of hands reaching out and strangling President Trump, or of Iranian drones destroying the Star of David, we see that Iran is not being shy about its stances. Because of this, we know that Iran’s days of fighting with the US and with Israel are not close to being over. The mural of the Ayatollahs Ruhollah Khomeini, Ali Khamenei, and Mojtaba Khamenei illustrates the main theme of Iran’s propaganda: the Islamic Republic is here to stay. Iran’s government is making former Generals and Supreme Leaders into heroes of the state to show its own people, and those of opposing countries, that Iran is only beginning its era of global influence.
President Trump is not the kind of person to take this sort of anti-American nationalism lightly. As he has shown for the past decade, Trump believes America to be the greatest country in the world. When Iran shot missiles at one of our aircraft carriers, we shot back and disabled three of their oil tankers. Since Iran has attacked the US through state sponsored artwork, I can only imagine that Trump will fire back through sponsoring our own nationalistic propaganda campaign, or through social media posts as he has done in the past. Either way, the theme of Iran’s propaganda is “we will not back down.” Iran will definitely continue its publicity spree, leaving the question of how, not if, the United States will retaliate.
One of the major goals of Iran’s massive propaganda influx is to unite its people. Increasing the overarching sense of civic nationalism within Iran will help the government to justify most, if not all, of its further actions in its conflicts with the US and Israel. Since Iran is a unitary state, this propaganda initiative could spread directly from Tehran to all corners of the country, making this imposition of Islamic Republic publicity nearly inescapable. In the eyes of the Iranian government, wielding its power through missiles and drones alone is not enough to truly win the war. The government also needs to use power to win over its people, securing its legitimacy and prominent global influence.