The Iranian Regime’s Propaganda Campaign: An Overview
It has to be mentioned that despite this article referring to Iranian propaganda for reasons of simplicity, the theocratic regime does not equal the Iranian population. The Iranian population shows a huge amount of resistance to the dictatorship both within the country and in the diaspora. Large parts of Iranian society have repeatedly demonstrated against the regime despite severe repression. Protest movements have been met with violence, censorship, and mass arrests. The gap between state ideology and popular sentiment continues to widen. In the last decades, Iran has become one of the major anti Western propaganda powers. The regime is a state sponsor of terrorism, including Hamas and Hezbollah. It kills and intimidates dissidents and opposition figures abroad via its agents disguised as diplomats. The regime is also very active in recruiting agents of influence and infiltrating foreign think tanks, universities, and politics. These activities are often carried out covertly and are difficult to trace. Several intelligence services have warned about Iranian influence operations. Exiled opposition figures have repeatedly been targeted through intimidation and assassination attempts.
The autocratic radical religious regime may have a worldview that belongs to ancient times, but this does not prevent it from spreading its propaganda using modern technology. Troll farms, social media profiles, fabricated AI videos, and out of context footage are part of this strategy. Digital state media outlets like Press TV or Tehran Times also play an important role. They operate with local and also Western correspondents. These outlets attempt to appear legitimate and professional. Their content is often tailored to specific audiences. Messaging is adjusted to local political debates in Western societies. For example, Iranian state media has portrayed domestic protest movements as foreign led destabilization attempts. Another example is the amplification of claims that Western sanctions are responsible for humanitarian crises. At the same time, the regime ignores its own economic mismanagement.
Narratives are versatile and not limited to issues in the Middle East. They often focus on social division, mistrust of democratic institutions, and anti American sentiment. Iranian propaganda frequently aligns itself with other authoritarian states. The main area of the Iranian regime’s power projection is the Middle East. This region also represents the focus of its propaganda efforts. The destruction of Israel is one of the main topics. Religious and de facto also state leader Ali Chameneii called Israel a cancer that will be eradicated.
This narrative is also connected to broader antisemitism and conspiracy theories. In 2006, the Iranian regime held the Shoa denier conference called „International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust“. Neo Nazis and other obscure guests from all over the world were invited. The regime also spreads conspiracy theories about the 9/11 attacks. It promotes general anti Western narratives as well. After the full scale invasion of Ukraine, Iranian channels also supported Russian narratives. This support took place in alliance with the international anti Western front. Since 2024, Iran has been part of the BRICS community. This alignment further strengthened cooperation between authoritarian regimes. Iran also supplies Russia with weapons, especially the notorious Shahed drones.
What the regime propaganda apparatus is constantly trying to do is distort reality, not only about the international situation but also about the situation in Iran. Iranian media and think tanks even claim that womens rights are more respected than before the revolution, along with similar claims about human rights and religious freedom. The regime is also using subtle narratives and cultural diplomacy to whitewash the domestic situation while at the same time amplifying frictions in the West, portraying Western countries as „imperialist“, „islamophobic“, and lacking freedom of speech.
Schoresch Davoodi, an expert on international relations and propaganda with Iranian roots, told INVED: “Iranian propaganda is primarily built on portraying the Islamic Republic as ‘normal’ and ‘legitimate.’ Since 1979, it has relied on the false claim that it is both inevitable and ‚anti-imperialist‘, framing any alternatives as ‚foreign-controlled‘. In doing so, it makes use of a network of Islamists and leftists, some of which dates back to the period before the Islamic Revolution.”
