In an interview with the website of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, Mehdi Shakibaei, stating that one of the main tools of the dominant system for confronting Iran is the use of cultural and media tools, said: “Iran must utilize a strategy of cultural and media resistance and create national unity to resist against the enemies. In recent decades, the West and arrogant coalitions have tried to overshadow international public opinion against the system of the Islamic Republic of Iran and introduce it as a global threat by using media and propaganda tools and presenting false and distorted narratives of events and realities in Iran.”

He emphasized the solutions and methods to counter the West’s soft and media war against Iran: “The first step is public education and awareness-raising; one of the most important goals of the enemy’s soft war against Iran is to create social and political divisions in Iran, because Iran is cohesive in terms of civilization, and disrupting it under threat and war conditions is difficult. Iranians show good cohesion against threats, but strengthening this cohesion requires educating and raising people’s awareness.”

The expert said: “Supporting free and independent media and strengthening domestic and foreign free media, especially in the fields of radio, television, and social networks, are among other solutions in countering the enemies’ soft war against Iran. The enemy uses these very media and social networks to change public opinion against the Islamic Republic of Iran; therefore, Iran must change this platform to its advantage.” He continued: “The third solution is to strengthen the culture of steadfastness and resistance; in the face of the West’s efforts to create division in public cohesion and efforts to weaken Islamic and revolutionary values, ideological goals and national interests must be aligned to increase cohesion. In this space, we must focus on strengthening the culture of resistance and steadfastness, on the country’s independence, and on using it as a deterrent against pressures. In the world, Iran is known for this spirit: that, in war and difficult conditions, like the 12-day war, its cultural sense and resistance are strengthened and become a global identity. Also, creating synergy in the resistance front is another effective solution in this regard; strengthening relations with allied countries and resistance groups through the exchange of information, media, and cultural resources is effective and can be considered in countering the enemy’s media pressures.”

Psychological warfare tools of the US and the Zionist regime, and methods to neutralize them

The expert, regarding the use of psychological warfare tools by the US and the Israeli regime against our country, noted: “The US and the Israeli regime, in their psychological war against Iran, mainly focus on creating division and social dissatisfaction and internal crises, which have been frequently observed in recent years. The Israeli regime and the US have tried to push Iran towards crisis through character assassinations, intelligence operations, internal insecurity, and sanctions, and at times they have been able to confront us with crisis through these very tools. Among these, their most important action is creating media propaganda. The West, using visual media networks, has reflected negative news and realities about Iran and has promoted dissatisfaction inside Iran through fabricating lies and selectively publishing news. The activity and support of hostile Persian-language media have been and are important tools of Western propaganda against Iran.”

He said, “Another tool is creating social division; the enemy focuses on ethnic and religious divisions in Iran, and it is unlikely that in the future, despite progress in media and propaganda tools, they will abandon this tool. Another tool of the enemy is cyber warfare and intelligence operations against our country to create public protest and unrest.”

Shakibaei continued: “Another tool of theirs is supporting terrorist groups and internal hostile groups like Jaysh al-Zolm or exiled opposition groups like the Monafeqin (MEK). Therefore, it is necessary for Iran to strive to neutralize the actions and strategies of these groups against Iran and to vigilantly identify and contain their plots, because the enemy can easily use them to advance its objectives in Iran.”

The necessity of strengthening international media and countering the distortion of history

The expert, in response to the question of how effective strengthening Persian and Arabic-language media is in countering the enemy’s negative propaganda, said: “Just as Persian and Arabic-language media play a vital role as strategic weapons of the enemy in the soft war against Iran, the Islamic Republic of Iran must also undertake the international strengthening of Persian, Arabic, and English-language media and fight the enemy from the very area where it is being targeted. Based on this, networks like Press TV and Al-Alam must be strengthened and revitalized. If these networks can express the truth and provide accurate information, and where hostile media seek to change international attitudes and opinions against Iran, Iranian media can represent the truth, then effective action can be taken to neutralize their measures. Creating independent media in this regard is very important because disseminating correct information to counter the enemy’s fake news is important for enlightening domestic and international public opinion.”

In response to the question that the enemy has distorted Iran’s history and its achievements in recent years, what should be done to counter this action? He said: “Distorting contemporary Iranian history, especially the history of the Islamic Revolution, has been among the tools of enemies for psychological warfare against Iran and damaging our country’s image. The West has tried to portray Iran’s achievements and successes in a reverse manner and, in this way, has also distorted history. The enemies’ effort to distort contemporary Iranian history has been a main pillar of the enemies’ media policy in confronting Iran after the revolution; therefore, to counter this approach, we must produce correct and extensive historical content.” He added: “Iran must introduce the history of Iran and the Islamic Revolution to the world by utilizing documentary works, reputable international publications, and historical films. Also, preserving and expanding scientific research is another way to counter the distortion of contemporary Iranian history.”

Shakibaei said: “In countries like England, America, and France, or even in Egypt, think tanks are effective in determining strategies and in publishing the truth of history and countering the enemy, therefore our think tanks and research centers must focus on the developments of contemporary Iranian history and help counter distortions by publishing scientific articles and authentic documents, and in this path, the government must definitely support them.”

He emphasized: “The next solution for countering the distortion of Iran’s history is direct communication with global communities. This method is the most effective and accessible solution for countering the distortion of Iran’s history and the Islamic Revolution. Iran must make more use of public diplomacy and the historical discourse of the revolution and its achievements in international forums. Diplomatic capacities in this arena must be used to the fullest. False narratives and distortions are being widely carried out against Iran, and in Iran, cultural, media, and research sectors must be strengthened to the same extent.”