If a country has missiles and rockets raining down from the skies what would you expect it to look like?
You would expect to see bodies on the ground buildings reduced to rubble people crying out in pain and fear politicians looking permanently stressed and kids hiding wherever they can.
Iran did not get that memo.
Because while the world imagines chaos someone in Iran is busy dropping top-tier memes and Olympic-level trolling.
People are out on the streets not running away but showing up at rallies in support of their government.
Kids are not begging for the war to stop they are asking for a missile because even war needs aesthetics.
Artists are performing, clapping back creatively at Trumps attack threats like it is a cultural mic drop.
Iran is not struggling Iran is not shattering Iran is not playing the victim card.
Iran is turning crisis into content. Being unapologetically almost theatrically savage.
Yet beneath all the bravado the numbers do not joke.
Over 3,500 people have died in US-Israel strikes with more wounded in just six weeks of war.
The pain is real. It is being carefully tucked away almost edited out to project a version of Iran that looks fearless, unbothered untouchable.
Clearly Iran has started another war, a propaganda war.
What is more stunning people are buying it.
And here is the real plot twist Iran has been under an internet shutdown since February 28 the day the attacks began.
Which means all this content, the memes the messaging, the mood is not for those inside the country it is for us.
MEMES STRONG AS MISSILES
Since the US and Israel began their bombing campaign Iranian embassies have turned into full-time meme factories flooding their feeds with extreme online snark.
Government-aligned accounts are posting AI-generated Lego-style animations linking the Epstein files to Trumps war subtle not even trying.
And then there is Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, one of Irans wartime leaders casually trolling the US administration, whose president was once the worlds most famous tweeter the irony writes itself.
With the regime battered but still standing Irans online army is working overtime to sell the ceasefire as a win.
The moment the attacks began this network did not scramble it launched, content, sharp messaging and perfectly timed jabs aimed straight at the Trump administrations weak spots.
The Jeffrey Epstein scandal pops up like a recurring character with claims that Trump started the war as a distraction from his links.
Other posts suggest he was played by Israel or is trying to profit from the chaos. Then there is the crowd favourite “taco” short for “Trump always chickens out”.
Iranian missions have also been sharing some political cartoons, one shared by the embassy in Bulgaria depicted an arm bearing Irans flag gripping Trumps neck, symbolising dominance.
Another, posted by the Consulate General in Mazar-e-Sharif showed Trump being lifted by a hand again suggesting control.
People were clearly impressed and an X user asked Irans Mumbai consulate if it was hiring Indians for its “media team” the reply went viral “Hi we’d genuinely love to but at the moment there are no vacancies”.
PUBLIC RALLIES AND HUMAN CHAINS
From embassy accounts to pro-Iran handles online the memes are coordinated, but on the ground ordinary citizens are just as loud, just as visible and very much not keeping it low-key.
In response to Trumps threats massive rallies have taken over the streets people holding flags chanting slogans and turning public squares into displays of loyalty.
Encouraged by rulers supporters of the Islamic Republic step out night after night filling the streets even as strikes continue.
According to the regime than 850 demonstrations have taken place since the war began that is not spontaneous energy that is an organised presence.
Alia Brahimi from the Atlantic Council wrote on X “That leaders will be killed has long been accepted and there has been decades of conditioning to prepare Iranians to absorb the death of senior commanders”.
She added, “That moral effort has a counterpart which has built resilience by making sure there are multiple replacements for anyone who holds a senior post and by more recently decentralising decision-making this is part of the Islamic Republics unique system and worldview”.
In terms the system is designed not to fall apart even when tested.
When Trump threatened to target energy sites the Iranian regime called on people to form chains and people showed up power plants, bridges, potential targets suddenly surrounded by civilians standing guard.
President Masoud Pezeshkian claimed that 14 million Iranians had volunteered to fight in case of a US or Israeli ground invasion, double previous numbers, “I too have been, am and will remain ready to give my life for Iran” he wrote.
Because in this version of the story resistance is both policy and performance.
LEADERS SMILE, TAKE SELFIES
Leaders are making sure they match the energy and keep people in confidence so despite missile and drone attacks, Irans leaders, including its President keep making very public appearances not rushed, not hidden, not even slightly low-profile.
They are there at rallies in the middle of crowds smiling and taking selfies like this is a campaign trail, not a conflict zone.
There’s no fear, no visible anxiety, just carefully curated calm.
Analysts say this is not a coincidence it is a strategy, an effort by Irans leadership to project resilience and authority the message is simple the Islamic Republic is unshaken by strikes firmly in control and very much watching.
Omid Memarian, an Iran analyst at DAWN a Washington-based think tank told Reuters that the decision to send officials into gatherings reflects a layered strategy, including an effort to sustain the morale of core supporters at a moment of acute pressure.
“The system relies heavily on this base if its supporters withdraw from space its ability to project control and authority weakens significantly” Memarian said.
Hadi Ghaemi, head of the Center for Human Rights in Iran calls it what it is, optics with a purpose.
“By being in the middle of crowds they have protections that would make Israeli-American attacks against them very bloody and generate sympathy worldwide” he told Reuters.
In words the selfies are not just for show they come with a security upgrade.
SONGS OF RESISTANCE
In what might be the poetic form of defiance yet Iran is not just responding with missiles or memes but with music.
Iranian musician Ali Ghamsari took things to a new level by performing a traditional tar recital outside the Damavand power plant yes the same site that US President Donald Trump had threatened to target.
The move seemed like a subtle protest and more like a melodic dare.
Captured on video Ghamsari sits calmly on a mat playing the tar a long-necked instrument at the heart of Persian classical music.
The setting screams tension the music does the opposite.
“Hello my friends I am currently at the Damavand Power Plant I wish you were here with me as this is a site that has been threatened with attack, which I hope will not happen I hope the sound of my tar can inspire peace and help keep the lights in peoples homes on” he said.
It does not stop there.
Composer and kamancheh player Hamidreza Afarideh returned to what remained of his destroyed music school not to rebuild, not yet first to play.
“I wanted the sound that remains here to be music, not bombs and missiles” he said.
Different places, instinct even if everything, around you falls apart
In another video that a lot of people have seen a reporter asks a kid who is dressed in gear about Trumps desire to change the government in Iran. This is a tough question that has a lot to do with politics around the world. The kids answer was not what people were expecting all.
When the reporter says “Trump says he wants to change the government in Iran” the kid says “My diaper is dirty can you change my diaper first?”
PROMOTING TOURISM
The Iranian embassies have suddenly found a job: they are promoting tourism. From nice metro stations to beautiful city views and amazing buildings the official social media accounts and regular users are creating a different version of Iran on Instagram. This is not much about politics but more like “welcome to Iran once the fighting is over”.
This did not just happen out of nowhere. It is a response to what US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: “If Iran spent its money on people of weapons it would be a much better country”. Now people who support Iran are making sure that everyone sees how nice the countrys buildings and roads are and they are sorry they did not see it before.
The internet did what it usually does. It responded with pictures. People on media started posting pictures of Irans nice buildings and public spaces and they were all saying “look at how nice Iran is” in a quiet way to show the West.
One post said “This is what America and Israel are afraid of and do not like. Because they know they can never make anything beautiful as this. This is why they do not like Iran and many other countries”.
Another Iranian account posted a picture of a mall in Tehran. Asked “Is this mall in Tehran nicer or worse than a mall in the US?”
Iran is making sure that before the war is over people think differently about it. They are sharing videos of women walking freely in clothes without a hijab tourists talking about how nice the people and facilities are and pictures of really nice bridges and landmarks. Usually the pictures from countries at war show bodies destroyed buildings and missile attacks but Iran is showing something different.
‘IRAN IS WINNING THE PROPAGANDA WAR’
It is clear that this is not a war with missiles. It is a war of ideas and Iran has been treating it that way from the start. Along with fighting on the battlefield they have created a different way of sharing information where what people think is more important than what is true and getting attention is more important than being accurate.
The Iranian embassy accounts around the world from Zimbabwe to India have started using this way of communicating that is like a joke but with big consequences. What used to look like diplomacy now looks like something from the internet but with big stakes.
“There is no question that Iran is winning the propaganda war. The Trump administration is struggling to keep up” said Darren Linvill, who works at Clemson University.
Tehrans approach is not an accident. Researchers say that the IRGC has spent years creating networks that can influence people online using people who speak English and can make pictures and videos that will be shared a lot. The IRGC has paid for companies that have people who are good at making memes and speaking English and they have made videos that are animated and can be shared quickly.
“Irans goal has been to get attention make the US more divided and put pressure on Trump” said Gholam Khiabany, a professor at Goldsmiths University.
They have also been posting about things that people who do not like imperialism care about like solidarity with Palestine, the war in Vietnam and what happened to Native Americans.
Propaganda only works because it spreads farther than the truth.
Reports say that at home the language is harsh with people who support the government on TV saying “we will grab you one by one” and “make your mothers cry for you”.
Iran has lost important people and buildings. Roads, bridges and important transportation systems are all damaged. They have responded by attacking Israel and the Gulf using proxy militias and causing problems with shipping and energy markets by closing the Strait of Hormuz which is a very important waterway.
Even as Trump talks about “total surrender” and getting rid of Irans leaders Iranian officials are still online still posting, still making fun of their enemies and adding another layer of defiance to every post.
“If your only connection to the war is through these videos you see the US and Israel using all their military power but it is not working and then Iran is just laughing at them” said the Atlantic Councils Brooking.
When Iran shares memes making fun of Trump and the US people on media like, share and follow. They like Irans sense of humor and many people are wondering “who is running these accounts” and some are even asking “are they hiring?”
Nobody is asking where the dead bodies are. What is the real situation, on the ground? Where are the pictures of people who are mourning the death of their loved ones? Iran is showing a story that makes it look like a hero. It is working because the world is believing it without questioning. This is the art of being savage.
