In a coordinated display of state propaganda, Friday prayer imams across Iran used their pulpits to deliver a unified narrative: all of the country’s economic, social, and international crises are the result of an “enemy’s psychological war,” and the only solution is more resistance and no retreat. This monolithic message, while completely ignoring domestic mismanagement, shifts all responsibility for problems abroad and frames any internal dissent as surrender to the enemy.
Background
These synchronized sermons were delivered in response to a set of escalating crises: worsening economic pressure, the activation of the “snapback mechanism” and international isolation, and the domestic repercussions of regional conflicts. From Mashhad to Ahvaz, imams blamed merchants and “traitors to God” for high prices, ignoring the role of the government’s macroeconomic policies. In Sari, Tabriz, and Ardabil, the snapback mechanism was dismissed as “exaggeration” and an insignificant tool of psychological warfare. Concurrently, the “Samoud” flotilla incident was lauded in cities like Shiraz, Ilam, and Kermanshah as a symbol of victimhood and proof of the necessity of resistance.
Analysis
An analysis of these identical messages indicates a top-down crisis management strategy. Using the nationwide network of Friday prayers, the regime seeks to control the narrative and neutralize public anxiety. By framing all problems as a foreign assault, the regime achieves three goals: 1) Absolving itself of responsibility for economic and social crises. 2) Justifying its aggressive foreign policy as a necessary “defense.” 3) Silencing internal critical voices by accusing them of aligning with the “enemy’s psychological war.” The imam of Yasuj even framed the population crisis as a security threat to obscure the root economic and social problems causing it.
Conclusion
This week’s Friday sermons were not a reflection of public concerns but a directive from the state to manage public opinion. This coordinated message shows that the regime, facing multifaceted failures, is intensifying its “us versus the enemy” strategy instead of reforming its policies, demanding that the people bear the cost of the system’s inefficiency as the price of resistance. It is an organized attempt to turn a crisis of legitimacy into a test of national loyalty.
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