Iran’s psychological warfare is targeting trust between Iranians and Israel | The Jerusalem Post

Jpost · 🇮🇷 public Iran · Aug 08, 2026 · 1383 words · By TINA GHAZIMORAD

Legitimacy of the Islamic Republic Media Responsibility and National Security Iran-Israel Strategic Alliance

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What to know about Legitimacy of the Islamic Republic

As an Iranian journalist in close contact with people across Iran, I have witnessed a reality often overlooked by outside observers.

Claims checked 12

Techniques found 6

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

As an Iranian journalist in close contact with people across Iran, I have witnessed a reality often overlooked by outside observers.

Why it matters

Through conversations with Iranians from different regions and backgrounds, people who do not know one another, I have repeatedly encountered a growing trust in Israel.

Common ground

This sentiment is shaped not by external campaigns, but by years of experience with the Islamic Republic’s repression, regional aggression, and the consequences of its policies.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Name Calling / Labeling, Appeal to Fear: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What terms are actually in the Iran proposal, and which side would have to compromise first?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that A recent, highly controversial narrative advanced by reports in The New York Times and Haaretz claims that Israeli intelligence once contemplated or actively maneuvered to bring Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power as an alternative to the current setup of the Islamic Republic?
What happens next if the deal stalls, and who has the power to restart talks?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-904655

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 6 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

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Loaded Language 90% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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Name Calling / Labeling 85% confidence

Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.

Why it matters: Recognizing name calling / labeling helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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Appeal to Fear 70% confidence

Building support by instilling anxiety or panic in the audience.

Why it matters: Recognizing appeal to fear helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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Smears 80% confidence

Using damaging allegations to undermine a person's reputation.

Why it matters: Recognizing smears helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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False Cause 65% confidence

Assuming causation from correlation or temporal sequence.

Why it matters: Recognizing false cause helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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Glittering Generalities 75% confidence

Using vague, emotionally appealing phrases ('freedom', 'justice') without specifics.

Why it matters: Recognizing glittering generalities helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 3

verified Verified By Reference 3

help Insufficient Evidence 2

schedule Pending 2

info Single Source 1

cancel Disputed 1

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Claim 1: “A recent, highly controversial narrative advanced by reports in The New York Times and Haaretz claims that Israeli intelligence once contemplated or actively maneuvered to bring Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power as an alternative to the current setup of the Islamic Republic.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results explicitly mention reports from The New York Times and Haaretz alleging that Israeli intelligence considered or maneuvered to bring Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power as part of a regime-change strategy.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Haaretz (Hebrew: הָאָרֶץ, lit. 'The Land [of Israel]'; originally Ḥadshot Haaretz – Hebrew: חַדְשׁוֹת הָאָרֶץ, IPA: [χadˈʃot haˈʔaʁets], lit. 'News of the Land [of Israel]') is an Israeli daily newspa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haaretz

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The New York Times has been involved in many controversies since its founding in 1851. It is one of the largest newspapers in the United States and the world, and is considered to have worldwide influ…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_New_York_Times_con…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The New York Times (NYT) is a newspaper based in Manhattan, New York City. The New York Times covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces and reviews. One of the lo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 2: “Ahmadinejad’s global infamy rests heavily on his grotesque denial of the Holocaust. By hosting international conferences of Holocaust deniers...”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and multiple news sources confirm that Ahmadinejad denied the Holocaust and hosted the 'International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust' in Tehran.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust was a two-day meeting in Tehran, Iran, that began on 11 December 2006. It was hosted by the Iranian government of Mahmoud Ahma…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Conference_to_Re…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the president of Iran from 3 August 2005 to 3 August 2013, and during that time had repeatedly made contentious speeches and statements against Israel. Ahmadinejad refused to c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Ahmadinejad_and_Israel

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad consists of the 9th and 10th governments of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government began in August 2005 after his election as the 6th pres…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_of_Mahmoud_Ahmadine…

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 3: “its sensationalized and irrepressible coverage of Israeli military pilots refusing to serve in March 2023”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding Haaretz reporting on Israeli military pilots refusing to serve in March 2023.

help

Claim 4: “On January 8 and 9, 2026, following a direct call to action by Pahlavi, millions of brave Iranians defied the regime and flooded the streets across Iran.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm protests on January 8 and 9, 2026.

info

Claim 5: “They spread systematic rumors claiming that Israel planned to use Kurdish separatist forces from outside the borders to invade western Iran.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific claim that the Iranian regime spread rumors about Israel using Kurdish forces to invade western Iran appears in the provided web search results but is not corroborated by independent third-party news organizations in the evidence provided.

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web search NEUTRAL — There are several separatist movements in Iran, most of which are associated with a particular minority ethnic group. Iran is a highly diverse country: in 2015, it was estimated that Persians―Iran's d…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separatism_in_Iran

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web search NEUTRAL — They spread systematic rumors claiming that Israel planned to use Kurdish separatist forces from outside the borders to invade western Iran.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-904655

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web search NEUTRAL — Under the proposal, Israel would arm and train Kurdish militias in northern Iraq and provide air support for an invasion of western Iran. Security officials reportedly warned that comparisons between …
https://thesudantimes.com/international/haaretz-mossad-plann…

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Claim 6: “In 2009, Ahmadinejad “won” re-election through a blatantly rigged and fraudulent vote.”

DISPUTED

While multiple sources state the 2009 election was 'widely viewed to be fraudulent,' there is direct contradiction from other sources (e.g., The Guardian) suggesting the result may not have been fraudulent and reflected voter will.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Controversies of the former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad included criticism after his election victory on June 29, 2005.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversies_of_Mahmoud_Ahmad…

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+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 7: “The friendship between our peoples is biblical, tracing its roots back to Cyrus the Great.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 8: “Thousands of peaceful protesters were beaten, imprisoned, tortured, and killed [during the Green Movement].”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and human rights reports (Iran Human Rights) confirm the imprisonment, torture, and killing of protesters during the Green Movement.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 30 December 2009, pro-government rallies, also known as the "Dey 9 epic", took place in various Iranian cities, including Tehran, Shiraz, Arak, Qom and Isfahan. The rallies were hold in response to…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Iranian_pro-government_ra…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Green Feather Movement was a series of college protests directed against McCarthyism at the height of the Red Scare in the United States. The movement arose in response to an attempt to censor Rob…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Feather_Movement

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Iranian Green Movement (Persian: جنبش سبز ایران, romanized: jonbash sabz iran) or Green Wave of Iran (موج سبز ایران, moj sabz iran), also referred to as the Persian Awakening or Persian Spring by …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_Green_Movement

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 9: “armed separatist Kurdish factions occupied and besieged cities in Western Iran [immediately following the 1979 revolution]”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia confirms the 1979 Kurdish rebellion in Iran, and other sources describe the occupation and siege of cities in Western Iran during that period.

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web search NEUTRAL — A firing squad during the 1979 Kurdish rebellion in Iran.The start of the Iran–Iraq War in September 1980 saw the Iranian government increasing efforts to snuff the Kurdish rebellion, the only 1979 up…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_Kurdish_rebellion_in_Iran

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web search NEUTRAL — This line of propaganda is a calculated psychological trap designed to trigger memories of the painful period immediately following the 1979 revolution, when armed separatist Kurdish factions occupied…
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-904655

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web search NEUTRAL — But the Kurdish–Iranian dispute is older than any of those, it has never gone away, and the 2026 crisis has brought it back to the front page. Here is the full story from the beginning. The Kurds of I…
https://bookofworldhistory.com/blog/kurdish-separatism-iran-…

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Claim 10: “The writer is communications director to Prince Reza Pahlavi, and an Iranian journalist who previously served as editor-in-chief of news at Manoto TV, a UK-based Persian-language television network.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 11: “Haaretz ran a so-called “investigation” claiming that the massive online support for Iran’s Crown Prince, Reza Pahlavi, was merely an artificial network of Israeli-funded bots.”

CORROBORATED

Reports from Haaretz, TheMarker, and Citizen Lab corroborate the claim that an Israeli-linked network used bots/AI to fabricate support for Reza Pahlavi.

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web search NEUTRAL — Reza Pahlavi is an Iranian politician and dissident in exile in the United States.Investigations by Haaretz and TheMarker reported the existence of an Israeli-linked influence network aimed at shaping…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winds_of_Change:_The_Future_of…

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web search NEUTRAL — An Israeli-linked project called “Generative AI for Good” creates AI-generated portrayals of Iranian “victims” to stir support for regime change.
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/israeli-ai-deepfake-campaign-iran-…

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web search NEUTRAL — However, as recent Haaretz and Citizen Lab reports reveal, much of this “support” was fabricated and produced by Israeli security agencies. These networks operated in an organized manner, using Israel…
https://nournews.ir/en/news/249622/When-“Haaretz”-Exposes-Mo…

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Claim 12: “This political farce was orchestrated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) mafia with the absolute backing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.”

CORROBORATED

Evidence indicates that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei publicly backed Ahmadinejad to stifle protests, and other reports link the IRGC to the maintenance of the regime's power during this period.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ali Ardashir Larijani (3 June 1958 – 17 March 2026) was an Iranian politician, military officer, and philosopher who served as the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from 2025 until hi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Larijani

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 28 February 2026, Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, was assassinated in Tehran as part of a series of Israeli airstrikes aimed at high-ranking Iranian officials. Khamenei's death was confir…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Ali_Khamenei

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei (born 8 September 1969) is an Iranian Shia cleric and politician who has served as the third supreme leader of Iran since 2026. A member of the Khamenei family and the second…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mojtaba_Khamenei

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.