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The Iranian regime, reeling from catastrophic regional defeats and internal turmoil, is escalating its belligerent rhetoric, flaunting unverified military advancements, and intensifying crackdowns on dissent to prop up its crumbling facade of power. This desperate bid by its Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, aims to conceal its strategic failures and rally its demoralized forces, while a deceptive pivot to “soft power” rhetoric seeks to dupe the international community into believing Tehran has abandoned its malign agenda.
Propaganda Missile Displays to Mask Vulnerability
On May 4, 2024, the clerical regime unveiled the so-called Qassem Basir ballistic missile, which it claims has a 1,200-kilometer range and can evade advanced defense systems like THAAD and Patriot through maneuverability and resistance to electronic jamming. Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, in bombastic interviews with state-controlled media, boasted that the missile’s precision ensures “any target will be destroyed” and threatened to strike U.S. and Israeli bases across the region if provoked. He referenced operations “True Promise 1 and 2” to inflate the regime’s missile capabilities, claiming vast reserves in “missile cities” ready for immediate use.
These grandiose claims, however, reek of propaganda. The regime’s assertions that the Qassem Basir can effortlessly bypass sophisticated Western defenses remain unverified, likely exaggerated to project strength and boost the sagging morale of its forces. Nasirzadeh’s threats to target U.S. and Israeli interests without hesitation reveal the regime’s reckless warmongering, a tactic to distract from its dwindling regional clout and domestic crises. The clerical dictatorship’s obsession with such displays underscores its desperation to appear formidable as its influence unravels.
Wary of facing pushback from its warmongering in the #MiddleEastConflict, #Iran's regime has sent another official to play the nuclear extortion card, hinting that its Supreme Leader may reconsider his fatwa and pursue nuclear weapon production. pic.twitter.com/NR14AOpObd
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 9, 2024
Ruthless Crackdowns to Stifle Opposition
Tehran’s repressive tactics are equally brazen. On May 4, 2024, the official IRNA news agency reported that security forces in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, issued a 10-day ultimatum to Iranian Kurdish groups to abandon their bases, threatening violence if they resist. This crackdown enforces a 2023 security pact between Tehran and Baghdad, which bans all political, military, economic, and social activities of Iranian opposition groups in Iraq. A decree dated April 24, 2024, signed by Iraq’s National Security Advisor Qasim al-Arajji, codifies this oppression, proving the regime’s ability to strong-arm its neighbor into silencing dissent.
This ruthless move exposes the clerical regime’s paranoia and weakness. By crushing opposition groups near its borders, Tehran seeks to shore up its faltering grip on power and project an image of control to its beleaguered forces. The crackdown is a stark reminder of the regime’s reliance on coercion to maintain its dwindling influence, even as it faces mounting resistance at home and abroad.
Warmongering Rhetoric to Deflect from Defeats
On the same day, the Kayhan newspaper issued a call to arms, urging Tehran to dominate the region rather than waste time on negotiations. It falsely portrayed the clerical regime as the “largest military and political power” in the Middle East, demanding aggressive action to avoid falling victim to “enemy cognitive warfare.” This incendiary rhetoric is a transparent attempt to mask the regime’s string of humiliating defeats, from the collapse of its proxies in Syria to setbacks in Yemen and Lebanon.
Watch and judge how #Khamenei who has been squandering #Iran's wealth on global terrorism and regional warmongering has got the nerve to accuse ordinary people of wasting water, bread and electricity. pic.twitter.com/YCGqWdVkK7
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) January 29, 2024
Despite official claims of strength, Kamal Kharrazi’s call for Iran to embrace “soft power alongside hard power” betrayed underlying anxieties about Tehran’s diminishing regional influence. Speaking at a regime conference on May 1, 2024, Kharrazi boasted that “no one can invade Iran” and hailed the regime’s military achievements. Yet, his emphasis on soft power and regional dialogue implicitly reflected a shift away from Iran’s prior reliance on hard-power dominance, following setbacks across its network of proxies and regional alliances.
Meanwhile, an Asharq Al-Awsat article from May 2, 2025, exposes the regime’s weakened state, noting its reduced influence in Iraq’s political arena ahead of the November 2025 elections. Tehran’s operatives, like Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani, now operate in the shadows, a far cry from the regime’s former dominance. Analysts suggest the clerical dictatorship may even sacrifice Iraq to preserve its core interests, a sign of its overstretched and faltering empire. This retreat, coupled with Kharrazi’s admissions, lays bare the regime’s desperation to hide its “dilapidated” condition.
The Iranian regime’s escalating warmongering, hollow missile boasts, and intensifying crackdowns are the desperate moves of a collapsing dictatorship. The unveiling of the Qassem Basir missile and renewed threats against foreign targets are designed to project strength, rally demoralized forces, and distract from deepening fractures within the regime. A regime this fearful and emboldened by impunity demands not appeasement, but resolute, uncompromising action to confront its aggression and hasten its inevitable collapse.