S1/E25: Iran's State-Censored Media Downplay the Israeli Attack Minimizing Pressure on the Regime to Retaliate

Iran's Gambit

Following the October 25 Israeli strikes against targets in Tehran, Shiraz, and Khuzestan, Iran's state-censored media insist the attack was limited and the damage minimal. The uniformity of the message may indicate an information campaign aiming at calming the population, and lessen the pressure on the regime to retaliate, which will provoke another attack. Israel, however, which according to the New York Times, targeted air defense systems near Iran's petrochemical plants, may not wait for a response before launching new attacks against Iran.