By Pishtaz | 2023-10-13

The Iranian regime is taking advantage of the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas to distract the nation and the world from a series of grave developments inside the country.

Since the war has begun, state-owned media have been plastered with officials' quotes in praise of Hamas militants, concern about Gaza, and anti-Israel rhetoric, drowning out any mention of the recent domestic events that the majority of the public and world observers continue to focus on.

The war started when Iran was overtaken by news of three major developments: the status of a comatose teen who was beaten by a regime agent because she was not wearing hair coverage, a prominent imprisoned activist who won the Nobel Peace Prize and the worsening state of Iran's economy.

Attempting to control narrative

The first several days after the fall and hospitalization of 16-year-old Armita Geravand -- who remains in a coma since October 1 -- the government kept the news under wraps, as it was clearly concerned about potential protests and a repeat of the events following Mahsa Amini's death in 2022.

After the news spread and the government was forced to acknowledge the event, the regime tried to control the narrative by asserting that the girl had fallen because of low blood pressure.

Shortly after, rumors and social media posts were posted that said Shahin Ahmadi -- the teen's mother -- had been arrested, and that Geravand's close relatives were banned from visiting her in the ICU.

As these reports gained more traction, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) broadcast an interview on video with the teen's parents, who asked people to pray for their daughter and denied reports saying they were not allowed to visit her.

Some observers likened the interview to the regime's familiar way of recording dissidents' forced confessions.

IRNA also posted the closed circuit camera video of Geravand entering the station, stopping at the Metro supermarket and boarding the train with two friends.

These images were followed by those of first responders attempting to revive her as she was laid on the platform. Video of her inside the car was missing. A Metro official later said the car Geravand had boarded was not equipped with a closed circuit TV camera.

Following the announcement, the government reportedly banned all media from covering the teen's story, causing a news void while accusing expatriate media outlets of peddling falsehoods to foment unrest.

Hardline media outlets ran editorials about the regime's innocence in the teen's fall every day, claiming that a plot they labelled "Project Armita" had failed to lead to protests.

Once the Iran-backed militant group Hamas attacked Israel, Iranian media flooded audiences with updates on the burgeoning crisis, pivoting completely away from content related to "Project Armita."

The coverage of the Hamas-Israel war in domestic media has focused on three aspects: updates on the war itself, anti-Israel rhetoric and denial of Iran's involvement.

'Regime's dream'

Meanwhile, the Iranian government has described the Nobel Committee's decision to award prominent jailed rights activist Narges Mohammadi this year's Peace Prize as "biased and political."

Regime-affiliated media quoted officials' remarks referring to Mohammadi as an individual repeatedly "convicted" of crimes.

This inconvenient story for the regime has also disappeared amid state media's wall-to-wall coverage of the Hamas-Israel war.

"This Nobel prize could not have been awarded at a more opportune time for the regime," said a Tehran-based attorney whose clients are mostly political prisoners and activists.

"They [the authorities] are trying their best to distract the public from Mohammadi and calls to release her. Instead, they are constantly covering the war," he told Pishtaz on the condition of anonymity.

"This is the Islamic Republic's dream," he added.

Overshadowing economy

Since president Ebrahim Raisi has taken office, regime-affiliated media have been covering the dire state of Iran's near-bankrupt economy more gently, with less criticism of the government.

Iran's economy has been on the brink of collapse, amid the free fall in the value of its national currency, sky-high inflation and increasing unemployment.

As soon as the war started between Israel and Hamas, domestic media began focusing on the needs of Palestinians and the dire conditions of Gaza inhabitants, and avoided delving into Iran's own economic issues.

For the 31-day period ending August 22, the Central Bank of Iran announced the rate of point-to-point inflation at 46% compared to the same period last year, while the Statistical Center of Iran (SCI) estimated the rate at 51%.

But in a recent report, Iran's Majles (parliament) Research Center announced that the rate of inflation "felt by the public" was 86% in the 12-month period ending August 22.

Since the Israel-Hamas conflict erupted, some Iranians have reported that the price of essential items, already inflated, has increased in the span of a few days.

Immediately after the war started, the value of the Iranian rial fell to its lowest in the past three months. And on Sunday, Iran's stock market index fell by 51,000 units, panicking investors.

Should the conflict widen, it would have uncontrollable and devastating consequences for Iran's economy and the regional economy, reformist economist Saeed Laylaz told Iranian media outlet Khabar Online.

State media have quoted officials as downplaying the conflict's negative effect on the country's economy, describing the recent economic woes as "psychology-based" and attributing them to "effects on market expectations."

Several regime-backed media outlets have published articles maintaining that the recent negative effect on Iran's already faltering economy is "fleeting" and deny that Hamas's actions have affected Iranians' livelihood -- an idea that most average Iranians reject, observers say.