Minister of Information: The voice of the enemy media remains in the hearts of young people

Raisi’s intelligence minister likened the “enemy media” to a drum whose sound “is becoming permanent in the hearts and souls of our youth.” Khamenei said a day earlier that the “enemies’ hope” is in popular protests, but their calculations are wrong.

Minister of Intelligence Ebrahim Raisi told a gathering of a number of IRGC commanders and military and security officials that today the "enemy" has mobilized with all its resources against the Islamic Republic.

According to Tasnim news agency, Hojatoslaam Ismail Khatib claimed on Sunday, June 5, that they realized, however, that "there is a power within the system" that is ready to confront any threat.

The 13th government cabinet member added: "The enemy is currently focused on three issues; first, it is counting on our protests and social conditions and is trying to expand them through discussions of demands, protests, gatherings, guilds, etc. through networking and organization."

The issue of the spread of political and civil protests and union demands in Iran, the scope of which is constantly expanding, was one of the main themes of the Leader of the Islamic Republic's speech yesterday at the ceremony marking the 32nd anniversary of the death of Ruhollah Khomeini.

Denying the domestic origins of discontent and protests

Ali Khamenei claimed at the ceremony that today, "the enemies' most important hope for striking the country is popular protests, but this calculation is wrong and they cannot pit the Iranian nation against the Islamic regime."

In recent weeks and months, whether in protests against the living conditions and rampant inflation, or in protest movements against inefficiency and corruption that led to incidents such as the collapse of the Metropol building in Abadan, the anger of protesters has quickly manifested itself in the form of slogans against the entire Islamic Republic system and Khamenei personally.

Khamenei and other government officials attribute the growing public protests against the current situation to "foreign enemies," especially the United States, and blame Persian-language media abroad and cyberspace for fueling the discontent.

Khamenei's claim and the Minister of Intelligence's admission

In a speech on Saturday (June 5), the Leader of the Islamic Republic claimed that Western countries hope to turn people against the Islamic system "through psychological work, internet activity, and mercenary recruitment," but this calculation is wrong, and today people's inclination towards religion has "certainly" increased.

The Minister of Information admitted on Sunday: "Unfortunately, the enemy media's drumbeat is not only deafening and annoying, but it is also becoming permanent in the hearts and minds of our youth."

Evidence suggests that what is becoming permanent in the hearts and minds of young people is distrust of the Islamic Republic and disillusionment with the entire government, which is itself the cause of the unrest but does not accept responsibility.

Ismail Khatib spoke about two other issues that he said the enemy is focused on: "The second is terrorist acts, the flag-bearer of which is the Zionist regime, and the third is an attempt to distort minds [regarding] Islamic Iran through cyberspace."

In recent months, operations against the Islamic Republic's nuclear and military facilities, often attributed to Israel, have increased sharply, yet the Minister of Intelligence claims that Iran has achieved sustainable security due to its "intelligence elite" in the region.

Source: DW