IRAN PERSPECTIVE

Iranian media coverage — as accessible despite massive internet shutdowns and total state control — constructs a narrative of national resistance against imperialist aggression. State media (PressTV, IRNA) broadcast messages minimizing damage sustained while amplifying counter-attack successes against American and Israeli targets. 'Operation True Promise 4' is presented as a proportionate and legitimate retaliation, framing retaliatory strikes on Israel, the Gulf, and Cyprus as an exercise of self-defense.

The categorical denial of negotiations with the United States constitutes the central axis of Iranian communication on day 25. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf calls Trump's claims 'fake news intended to manipulate financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which America and Israel are trapped.' Simultaneously, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei admits via IRNA that 'messages were received through some friendly countries indicating a US request for negotiations' — a subtle contradiction suggesting Iran is keeping the door open while refusing to lose face.

The Iranian disinformation apparatus is running at full capacity, as documented in an academic analysis of 'AI-native war propaganda': PressTV shared a photo of a Pakistani drone falsely presented as an Israeli drone shot down near Natanz, Tehran Times published an AI-manipulated satellite image purporting to show the destruction of a US radar at Al-Udeid base in Qatar, and Ukrainian war footage is regularly relabeled as showing damage in Tel Aviv. This systematic disinformation targets both the domestic population deprived of internet and the international audience.

Iranian coverage blind spots are abysmal: total concealment of military losses (HRANA estimates 1,167 military killed), silence on internal divisions and popular opposition to the regime (the January 2026 protests crushed in blood are never mentioned), minimization of actual damage (82,000 civilian structures damaged according to the Iranian Red Crescent), and absence of any self-criticism on Iran's role in regional destabilization. Iranian border guards have been ordered to shoot civilians attempting to access Iraqi telephone networks, illustrating the extent of narrative control.