DW reporter Amir Soltanazadeh, a native Persian speaker, has given his perspective on how the Iranian media reacted to the Israeli strikes on Iranian territory.
In the direct aftermath of the Israeli strikes, Iranian state media initially maintained an eerie silence.
This contrasted sharply with the dynamic social media activity within Iran, where users on platforms like Telegram and X (formerly Twitter) shared videos of bright lights in the sky and loud noises.
Accounts linked to Iran’s intelligence and security apparatus warned on social media that sharing images with foreign media could be deemed espionage. This was part of a broader strategy to intimidate the public against disseminating information about the attacks. Telegram channels associated with the Revolutionary Guard shared images of urban areas, insisting that nothing significant had occurred.
At the time, air traffic monitoring websites indicated a notably empty airspace over Iran and Iraq.
Finally, after the widespread sharing of numerous videos by citizens on social media, the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) network briefly acknowledged hearing loud noises but continued to deny that any strikes had occurred.
Eventually, some official Iranian news sources conceded that an attack had taken place but claimed that Iranian defenses had successfully intercepted the strikes. Subsequently, state-aligned media downplayed the severity of the assault.
This morning, several government-affiliated journalists attempted to minimize the impact of the strikes by appearing in busy public areas of the capital, Tehran, asserting that normal life continued.
In response, some social media users remarked, “This isn’t our war with Israel; it’s your war!”