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OPINION NOVEMBER 07, 2025 | The Indian Eye 11

Viva la Libertad, carajo! (meaning had been shot down. These exagger-
Long live freedom).” In this post, he ations formed part of a coordinated
also shared a video of the Evin Pris- state effort to reinforce Iran’s deter-
on Blast, which is popular among the rent image and to portray parity in
political prisoners of the Iranian re- the conflict, where the military bal-
gime. ance was tilted towards Israel.
Another example of IO by Israel In addition to media and narra-
was the 18 June 2025 TV hack. Irani- tive operations, Iran leveraged sev-
an anchors were cut off mid-broad- eral cyber tools against Israel. One
cast as protest imagery and slogans of the most revealing features of
flooded the screen. Israel’s UN envoy Iran’s cyber operations during the
then shared the clip on social media, war was its effort to gather real-time
amplifying the message globally. This information by hacking Israeli inter-
operation mixed cyber intrusion with net-connected closed-circuit televi-
narrative warfare: by combining real sion (CCTV) systems, to improve the
footage of domestic unrest (woman, precision of its missile strikes and for
life, freedom, protests) with a call to damage assessments.
action against the regime and aiming
to delegitimise Iranian authorities in CONCLUSION
the eyes of their citizens.
he 12-day war between Isra-
el and Iran showed that IOs
Throughout the operation, the Iran’s IO operational objectives were focused primarily on projecting military strength, main- Thave become a decisive part of
IDF maintained a constant taining regime legitimacy, and countering Israeli narratives (File photo) modern warfare. Both states treated
the information domain as a battle-
online presence, uploading Israeli fighter jets were shot down, ground, where legitimacy and per-
animated and live videos, IRAN’S INFORMATION and the fate of the pilot is unknown. ception were as crucial as kinetic out-
OPERATIONS
comes. Israel’s campaign focused on
during the operation and ran’s IO operational objectives The IDF immediately denied it and delegitimising the Iranian regime and
called it “Fake News”. Many social
strikes on Iran on their official were focused primarily on pro- media users who supported Iran reinforcing its own image as a stable
and responsible regional power. At
YouTube channels and X Ijecting military strength, main- used a photo of a Chilean navy avia- the same time, Iran’s efforts were
taining regime legitimacy, and coun- tor named ‘Daniela Figueroa Scholz’
account. IDF was constantly tering Israeli narratives. Iran sought from 2021[18] as a captured Israeli aimed at sustaining cohesion, pro-
jecting strength, and countering Is-
sharing the maps of the sirens to shape both domestic and interna- female pilot, which was entirely out raeli narratives. Both countries used
tional perceptions by exaggerating of context. This episode illustrates
operated during the Iranian battlefield successes, crafting narra- Iran’s reliance on rapid, sensational- offensive and defensive IO, which
makes IO as crucial as other domains
missile strike and sharing tives of resistance, and mitigating the ist messaging to seize the information of warfare.
impact of Israeli information warfare space before verification could chal-
The conflict thus highlights a
posts like ‘Attacking is not aimed at destabilising the regime in- lenge its narrative. In information broader shift in how warfare will be
equal to targeting’. ternally. warfare, speed often outweighs accu- conducted in the future. While IOs
Iran launched an extensive cam- racy, a principle Iran used effectively.
paign to amplify claims of military Numerous viral posts showed have been used in warfare for cen-
By doing this, they were trying success against Israel, frequently cir- the massive damage to big cities in turies, the increasing application of
to create a narrative that Iran was culating AI-generated and doctored Israel, like Tel Aviv and others. Fact emerging technologies such as ar-
tificial intelligence and deepfakes
attacking civilians, while Israel had videos depicting Israeli F-35 aircraft checkers traced these to AI-gener- adds a new layer of complexity to
only attacked military infrastructure. being shot down, missile strikes on ated images or video game footage. the way warfare is understood and
In another post, the IDF stated that key locations such as Tel Aviv, or While such tactics risk undermining strategies are formulated. For con-
Iran is a global threat and the IDF large-scale damage to Israeli facili- credibility in the long term, they are temporary strategists, the Israel–Iran
is standing between them and the ties. Many of these claims, including effective in the short term for cre- case demonstrates that success in
world. Through these communica- the downing of an Israeli F-35, were ating confusion and eroding trust future conflicts will depend not only
tions, Israel pursued dual objectives later exposed as recycled footage; the in Israeli capabilities. These opera- on technological superiority and bat-
of legitimising its own military oper- international spokesperson of the tions serve the dual purpose of first tlefield performance, but also on the
ations by portraying them as precise IDF later called it “fake news” on his strengthening domestic unity and ability to dominate the information
and pre-emptive while simultane- X (formerly Twitter) post. However, contributing to psychological warfare environment.
ously framing Iran as an aggressor, by then, they had achieved their im- by framing Israel as vulnerable.
threatening not only Israel but also mediate objective of demonstrating These narratives were not lim- Harsh Yadav is a Research Intern at
regional stability. strength and retaliation capability. ited to the claims by media houses the West Asia Centre, MP-IDSA
Thus, Israel created a narrative The intent was not to convince inter- and individuals, but Iranian officials
that its strikes were legitimate and national military experts, but to re- and the state media were also a part Views expressed are of the author and
do not necessarily reflect the views of
that it is the power that protects the assure domestic audiences that Iran of this information warfare. For in- the Manohar Parrikar IDSA or of the
entire region from Iran. The strate- could withstand and respond effec- stance, on 16 June 2025, IRNA an- Government of India.
gic intent is clear: Israel’s IO did not tively to Israeli aggression. By doing nounced that Iran had launched the
merely report military activity but so, Tehran sought to sustain morale “largest and most intense missile The full version of this article first
also attempted to form a narrative at home and uphold the broader nar- attack” on Israel. Israel reported appeared in the Comments section of
by combining moral authority and rative of resistance that legitimises the firing of fewer than 100 Iranian the website (www.idsa.in) of Mano-
regional security, thereby trying to the regime in times of crisis. missiles, with most being intercept- har Parrikar Institute for Defense
influence public opinion and geopo- Iran’s Islamic Republic News ed. Similarly, the governor of Varmir Studies and Analyses, New Delhi, on
litical discourse. Agency (IRNA) claimed multiple (near Tehran) claimed an Israeli F-35 October 18, 2025

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