{"id":345175,"date":"2026-05-18T10:32:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T09:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=345175"},"modified":"2026-05-18T10:36:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T09:36:53","slug":"the-regimes-tv-rifle-show-arming-the-cameras-executing-the-armed-and-hiding-collapse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/society\/the-regimes-tv-rifle-show-arming-the-cameras-executing-the-armed-and-hiding-collapse\/","title":{"rendered":"The Regime\u2019s TV Rifle Show: Arming the Cameras, Executing the Armed, and Hiding Collapse"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Iranian
Iranian state TV presenter posing with a Kalashnikov on live air\u2014 May 2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Three-minute read<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

On May 16, 2026, Iranian state television crossed<\/a> into open spectacle. On the Ofogh network, presenter Hossein Hosseini disassembled and reassembled a Kalashnikov before firing live rounds into a UAE flag in the studio. The same day, Channel 3\u2019s Mobina Nasiri pledged that \u201cin case of need, she and all women will join the war as cannon-fodder.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the midst of a total economy and resource crisis, IRIB Channel 1 framed civilian drills in mosques and city squares as \u201cpublic defense,\u201d calling on citizens to preserve fuel, water and power by declaring: \u201cOne liter less petrol, one bulb off, one bucket of water less\u2026 equals successful civil defense against the enemy.\u201d<\/p>\n

These broadcasts were not about arming the Iranian people. The regime knows that is the most dangerous thing it could do. In reality, it continues to execute<\/a> anyone who independently grabs arms or believes in using them against the state. The televised gunplay is pure political theater, intended solely to preserve the loyalty of its own demoralized base\u2014the only remaining fragment of social capital the Islamic Republic still possesses.<\/p>\n

By staging these shows, the regime hopes to rally its demoralized faithful while intimidating a restive society exhausted by endless crises \u2014 and to warn foreign enemies that any ground invasion would confront something far worse than Iraq or Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

\n

"The \u201cmessage\u201d being sent through these executions is indeed one of #terror<\/a>, but the response from the streets suggests a different conclusion: the only way to end the cycle of executions is to remove the hand that holds the rope," writes @SaforaSM<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/5dpRWUpgOV<\/a><\/p>\n

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 5, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n