Iranian diplomatic accounts across the globe have transformed into viral meme machines to counter United States and Israeli military narratives on social media, according to a report by France 24.
Following US and Israeli airstrikes against Iran on February 28, a digital propaganda war emerged on the platform X. The Pentagon and the White House began publishing combat footage interspersed with clips from Hollywood films, video games, and cartoons.
In response, the Iranian regime launched a counterattack using humor and trolling. Official accounts from Iranian embassies in South Africa, Thailand, and the United Kingdom have moved away from traditional diplomatic messaging to adopt Gen Z-style viral content.
Digital counter-offensive
Until recently, these embassy accounts were largely ignored feeds that recycled statements from Iran’s foreign minister and reported on routine embassy activity. This changed in early March when the accounts began reposting humorous content from other X users that mocked the US war narrative.
By late March, the accounts began producing their own original memes. On March 23, Iran’s embassy in South Africa posted a photo of a toy steering wheel to mock US President Donald Trump. The post followed Trump's suggestion that the US could share control of the Strait of Hormuz with Iranian leadership, and the meme garnered nearly 4 million views.
Other accounts have utilized pop culture to target US officials. The Iranian embassy in Ghana recently published a meme portraying Trump as the character Forrest Gump from the 1994 film. France 24 reported that similar memes from various Iranian embassies have garnered hundreds of millions of views worldwide.
On April 6, the Iranian embassy in Zimbabwe responded to a post by Trump that set a deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz. The embassy's reaction was part of a broader trend where Iranian digital assets target US officials, including Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
While the US administration's combative messaging has struggled to gain traction, the Iranian embassy's use of humor and memes has successfully attracted millions of views and reposts.
