Iran’s regime is sophisticated, but it is also ham-handed in the way it takes credit for a string of recent attacks across the region. It openly bragged about how it had been striking at Saudi Arabia, the US and Israel over the past 72 hours.
Iran does this through messaging via state media in English. Press TV, for instance, has numerous headlines about the attacks. If Iran wasn’t behind them, the headlines would all be to obfuscate Tehran’s role. But Iran is behind them, and it is pleased to show off.
On Sunday, Press TV reported: “Yemeni forces say ‘sensitive’ Saudi targets hit by missile, drone strikes.” This refers to attacks over the weekend that targeted Riyadh and other areas. Striking images showed what appeared to be Patriot air-defense systems intercepting the Iranian-backed Houthi ballistic missiles.
Iran calls this the “Yemen” army. It also said via Press TV that this same Yemen army was about to “liberate” Marib. Marib is controlled by the Saudi-backed government forces of Yemen. Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen in 2015 to stop Iranian-backed Houthi rebels from taking Aden. Riyadh coordinated with the UAE and other key coalition partners at the time.
Iran receives information directly from the Houthis on their alleged gains and their drone and missile attacks. It isn’t like Iran’s media relies on pro-Saudi media. It takes the information directly from the horse’s mouth, the Houthi Ansarullah leadership.
Whether Tehran ordered the vast attacks on Saturday is unclear; sometimes it appears Iranian media have details about these attacks before even the Houthi media have the full details. This speaks to wider coordination between the IRGC, Iranian media such as Tasnim or Fars News and the Houthis.
Iranian media outlets are sophisticated in this. They have their own reporters who get scoops and also do high-level interviews. They are not shy to showcase Iran’s weapons and accomplishments and get quotes from Iranian-backed groups.
But if the regime was displeased, these stories would disappear. They don’t, and that shows regime approval. Iran quotes the Houthis as saying attacks on Saudi Arabia will continue.
Next in line for Iran’s messaging via Press TV to the West in English are stories bragging about how Iran says the time is not ripe to speak to the US in Europe. The Sunday headline comes after The Wall Street Journal headlined this story. Iran is pushing it too. Iran’s point is that it controls the tempo and the narrative. US President Biden will wait for Iran, is the way Iran puts it.
Next up is Iran’s messaging on threats to the West if the International Atomic Energy Agency is tough on Iran. Headline No. 3 at Press TV on Sunday evening is just that, a threat to respond. Iran messages these threats to give it an excuse to respond. Iran doesn’t just attack quietly; it messages before, during and after.
Iran also says the US has “illegal bases” in Syria. After last Thursday’s airstrikes by the Biden administration against pro-Iranian groups in Syria, which followed an attack by Iran on Erbil and Baghdad in Iraq targeting the US, Iran is angry about the US role in Syria.
“Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman has condemned recent attacks on areas east of Syria by US troops, saying the illegal bases run by American forces in the country are used to train terrorists for later use against the government in Damascus,” Press TV reported.
The message is that these bases might be targeted by Iran. We know that pro-Iranian groups in Iraq have already threatened to respond, and there are rumors Iran may respond in Syria. US drones allegedly hovered over Albukamal over the weekend, seeking to deter such a response.
Iran’s Press TV says the US is transferring “Daesh terrorists.” It relies on SANA media in Syria for this conspiracy theory. Iran’s media say the US bombed “Iraq’s anti-terror fighters” in Syria. Iraqi “resistance” groups, Iran says, are not demanding an investigation of US attacks.
Iran is also focused on Israel. It reported a meeting between Defense Minister Benny Gantz and the king of Jordan. The meeting was a secret, the report said.
Iran also appears very interested in an attack on an Israeli-owned ship on Friday in the Gulf of Oman. Two of the “must read” stories Press TV is pitching are about the attack on the ship. Iran’s messaging here is clear as well. It likely attacked the ship, and by highlighting it, Iran is taking credit.
Meanwhile, in its own media in Farsi, Iran has a slightly different list of stories at Fars and Tasnim. To start, they are more mundane and about rail lines and the economy. They carry the headlines about Iran rejecting meetings in Europe about nuclear issues. The Houthis are quoted about the “precision” missile strikes on Saudi Arabia.
Iran’s efforts in English to highlight all its proxies in the region, from Lebanon to Syria and Iraq and Yemen, is evidence of the full-court press it is using to escalate tensions with the US, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the Gulf and others.
Iran takes credit for these incidents by showcasing them and not denying them. If the Iranian regime wanted to really obscure its involvement, it would quote more foreign reports and distance itself. The messaging by pro-Iran groups in Iraq and Syria also communicate future threats.