Memes, trolls, humorous videos and a common target: American politicians. As part of the war in the Middle East, young diplomats took control of Iranian embassy accounts, and suddenly transformed into purveyors of viral content worthy of Generation Z.

Published on: 05/05/2026 - 1:53 p.m. Modified on: 05/05/2026 - 4:09 p.m.

When the first Israeli-American strikes hit Iran on February 28, another battle opened on social networks: the communications war. On the one hand, official American accounts, notably those of the Pentagon and the White House, publish extracts of their strikes, interspersed with images taken from Hollywood films, video games and cartoons. On the other hand, the Iranian regime has gradually relied on its network of embassies to multiply provocative and mocking publications.

The main target, unsurprisingly, is President Donald Trump, but also his Defense Minister, Pete Hegseth, with, in the background, the more general war discourse promoted by the American government. And this communication is done with great reinforcement of memes and videos, critical, sarcastic, humorous, whose online success often clearly exceeds the messages of the American administration.

Embassy accounts were previously little followed and were content to relay statements from the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs or government officials, and the current activities of the embassy. In early March, they began reposting humorous posts from other X users mocking the US war against Iran. At the end of the month, they published their own humorous posts.

On March 23, the Iranian embassy in South Africa published a photo of a toy representing a steering wheel; after Donald Trump suggested the United States could share control of the Strait of Hormuz with Iran. The post was viewed 3.9 million times on Result: more than six million views.

The publication of these viral memes demonstrates an in-depth knowledge of global pop culture, with references to popular films and series like "Friends" or "Pirates of the Caribbean". Enough to surprise many Western media and commentators.

“A younger generation of diplomats was more easily granted permission to publish”

Ali Pourtabatabaei, Iranian journalist and well-versed in the workings of the Iranian administration, explains how this sudden change was decided and implemented:

When war broke out, the older generation of Iranian diplomats – who usually run these accounts – realized that their views had no resonance with non-Iranian audiences. So she turned to a generation of younger diplomats who have mastered social media. In times of war, this new generation was more easily granted permission to take control of these accounts and the freedom to post there. For multiple reasons, this young generation of Iranian diplomats has received training focused more on public diplomacy and communication than on other areas. They are young and, naturally, more familiar with contemporary pop culture. Another important point is that this new PR strategy was not applied to all accounts at the same time. One or two embassies began with a test, and when this proved successful, others followed.

And contrary to what many might believe, the diplomats behind these accounts are not all gathered in the same room in Tehran; they are all based in their respective countries of assignment. It was the emergency situation linked to the war, combined with the very favorable reception given to them on social networks, which led to this change, allowing this young generation to cross the traditional limits of diplomatic public relations.

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Donald Trump as an animated Lego character

The embassies also relayed satirical videos representing Donald Trump in the guise of a Lego character animated like a puppet of Benyamin Netanyahu or entangled in the Epstein affair.

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These videos are made by young Iranians who are not mandated by the government, a spokesperson for one of the collectives that produce them, Explosive Media, told the France 24 Observers editorial team.

"When the war broke out, people realized that the old clichés and old ways were outdated and could no longer work. Young people like us took the reins, and with God's help and inspiration, we are able to produce world-class content in different fields. I don't think that once the war started, a group or team was suddenly created to take control of all these accounts."

According to a study by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, during the first 50 days of the war, posts from Iranian embassies and other official accounts received a total of approximately 900 million views and 22 million likes, approximately 14 and 30 times more, respectively, than during the same period before the war.

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