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Amid jokes of ‘cardboard ayatollah’, how long can Iran continue to project an image of resilience?
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A Pakistani Shi’ite Muslim woman holding a portrait of Iran’s slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei with his son and new supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei during a rally.
PHOTO: AFP
- Iran restricted internet access, monopolising information and limiting external awareness of the war's impact and damage inside the country.
- A handful of brief video clips generated by intrepid Iranian citizens did make it through the electronic censorship wall, but none provided a coherent picture.
- Iran's gamble on the new leader's public absence aims to project an image of mysterious power, but risks being seen as weakness domestically.
AI generated
LONDON – From the moment Iran was attacked in the early hours of Feb 28, its government knew that the battle for the information space and its ability to shape the propaganda narrative of the conflict would be just as important as the country’s military capabilities to oppose the US-Israeli offensive.
In putting forward their message of defiance, the Iranian authorities benefited from their total control over the domestic information space.
