![\"Demonizing_MEK_Iran_media2_02102020-1\"](\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Demonizing_MEK_Iran_media2_02102020-1.jpg\" "\\"Demonizing_MEK_Iran_media2_02102020-1\\"")
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For more than 50 days, relentless protests have rattled the crisis-driven rule of the clerical regime in Iran. As in all preceding uprisings, this time again, public demands for lesser profound grievances, have again turned into calls for regime change.<\/p>\n
The people have shown themselves unwilling to rest until those at the top of the regime are brought down. Toward that end, they have defied a nonstop, brutal crackdown that has left hundreds of protesters dead, thousands wounded and tens of thousands arrested or disappeared. This crackdown has been reinforced, to little effect, by a series of state-organized rallies, dozens of ultimatums by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and law enforcement officials, and five public addresses<\/a> by the regime\u2019s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n Khamenei is now faced with an existential dilemma. His regime cannot back down even an inch in the face of the people\u2019s demands without further raising their expectations and starting down a path that leads to its own collapse. Many times, Khamenei has made clear that change in behavior<\/em> for his regime leads to regime change<\/em>. On the other hand, there is something that has kept him back thus far from ordering a full-fledged, \u201cfire-at-will\u201d style crackdown like in the 1980s or the November 2019 uprising<\/a>.<\/p>\n Perhaps it is because the regime\u2019s Commander-in-Chief realizes that the latter will radicalize the movement and that his corrupt and shattered security apparatus will not survive the sole outstanding option for the people: an armed struggle.<\/p>\n As publicly stated, the regime\u2019s response has consistently involved \u201cidentifying the leaders of the riots,\u201d \u201ctargeted arrests,\u201d and propaganda against those the regime deems the masterminds of insecurity. The following report aims to show why and how Tehran\u2019s propaganda apparatus primarily targets the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Insight<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n The Iranian regime\u2019s disinformation campaign against the organized opposition group is nothing new. Were the MEK as \u201cdespised\u201d as Tehran and some political pundits in the West claim it to be, then the extent of the recent media campaign against the MEK would make no sense. But in the context of the escalating rage of the current uprising, that campaign says as much about the opposition as it does about the regime.<\/p>\n Raymond Tanter, a former United States National Security Staff under President Ronald Reagan, conducted thorough research on Iranian state media and disclosed in his book<\/a> “Appeasing The Ayatollahs And Suppressing Democracy” that in confronting different Iranian opposition groups, Tehran is targeting the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MEK\/ PMOI)\u00a0 many times more than all other opposition groups and individuals combined.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, some \u201cIran experts\u201d in the West argue that \u201cdue to the violent record and the malign nature of the MEK, the regime is merely using them as a deterrent,\u201d a boogeyman if you will, to scare off domestic dissent as well as international support. But a more nuanced undertaking, as well as shedding light on the magnitude of the regime\u2019s disinformation activities, can lay this argument to rest and help the political spectator to see beyond the smoke and mirrors.<\/p>\n The due diligence covers news reports, documentary pieces, and TV broadcast programs from official media sources in Iran. The data has been assessed from September 16, the day Mahsa Amini was announced dead after being arrested by the morality police, marking the first day of the uprising. It does not cover any previous practices of the regime\u2019s propaganda apparatus.<\/p>\n A large number of resources (money\/time\/personnel) allocated, particularly the diverse contexts of narratives, to this topic in its media reveals that the Iranian regime is struggling with something more significant than an imaginary enemy. Instead, the war of narratives is focused on an uphill battle with a real foe, which is gaining traction as the uprising grows more radical and eliminates all of the regime\u2019s deception methods.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Assessment:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n The research has established the following conclusion:<\/p>\n The research indicates that the ruling clerics have developed a delicate and complex deceit system to counterfeit the MEK. Dealing with a multicultural society, the Iranian regime has been using dozens of different and sometimes contradicting narratives to influence the people\u2019s mindset away from the organization.<\/p>\n The word Mujahedin<\/em> is originally a Quranic term for \u2018those who sacrifice their lives for the sake of God and the oppressed<\/em>. But the clerical regime officially calls the MEK \u2018hypocrites\u2019 to convince the more traditional and religious strata, especially Shiites, that members only faking their faith. Meanwhile, the regime can\u2019t help but claim the MEK are dogmatic, hijab-wearing extremists<\/a> to mislead the more urban, secular-oriented, or even the non-Muslim communities. The regime has also produced other ethnic-oriented narratives like stories about killing Kurds, Arabs, or even Christian priests<\/a>.<\/p>\n Even though these lies were uncovered<\/a> and exposed by former regime officials<\/a> as part of a campaign against the MEK by the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), this has not prevented state media from repeating and elaborating upon the falsehoods again and again.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Iranian regime\u2019s vast intelligence community has a primary department to counter the MEK, called the Nefaq Division, which is run by the MOIS. Nefaq or Monafeq is the Quranic expression for hypocrisy, a libel that the regime\u2019s former Supreme Leader Khomeini used to marginalize the organization and forestall its rising popularity in Iran.<\/p>\n As the internet has rendered the regime\u2019s censorship futile, more Iranians have come to learn about the roots of their misery, and dissent has been growing by the day. Consequently, the regime\u2019s current Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, called for a new initiative, the Jihad of Explanation<\/a>, as a means to deal with the flow of free information that vividly impacts Iranian society. Brandishing the opposition\u2019s revelations as propaganda<\/a>, Khamenei declared that the war on narratives<\/em> requires ammunition and resources.<\/p>\n The Iranian regime has also officially acknowledged having deployed tens of thousands<\/a> of fake social media accounts to disguise as dissident groups or individuals while trashing the organized resistance and trying to delegitimize those who truly advocate regime change.<\/p>\n Ruhollah Mo'men Nasab, parliamentary special advisor on the so-called "internet users projection bill" and former commander of the cyber army reveals how #Tehran<\/a> has been using @Twitter<\/a> for #propaganda<\/a>. — NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) March 29, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"mashreqnew-s-mek-isis\"](\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/mashreqnew-s-mek-isis.jpg\" "\\"mashreqnew-s-mek-isis\\"")
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#Iran<\/a> #InternetFreedom<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/kHzjtlEFvR<\/a><\/p>\n