Iran displays Icelandic minister’s image on Tehran billboard

Iranian authorities use images of foreign leaders to shape public debate and promote their positions, including a photograph of Iceland’s foreign minister on a large billboard in Tehran, mbl.is reported. Magnús Þorkell Bernharðsson, a professor of Middle Eastern history at Williams College in Massachusetts, said the display was not unusual.

Iranian authorities regularly publish images of foreign leaders and quotes they consider supportive of government policy, particularly criticism of Israel and the United States, Bernharðsson said in a written response to mbl.is.

“The leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran have always operated a vigorous and large-scale propaganda machine,” he said. In the past, propaganda was mainly displayed on large banners and murals on prominent buildings, often portraying the United States as the “Great Satan.” In recent years, electronic billboards with changing messages have become increasingly common along Tehran’s main streets, he said, comparing them to displays at Piccadilly Circus in London and Times Square in New York.

Iranian authorities also use social media systematically, including prominent Lego-style videos that mock or diminish the positions and leaders of the United States and Israel. Publishing images of foreign leaders or events the government believes support its general policy is “almost a daily occurrence,” Bernhardsson said. He said it was therefore not unusual for a photograph of Icelandic Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir at the United Nations to appear on a Tehran billboard.