On Monday, shortly after midnight, American attacks kept me awake. Until around four o’clock in the morning, Iranian military targets in the southern ports, and even in the central province of Arak, came under attack. Afterwards, it was the turn of the Islamic Republic’s naval and ground forces to launch missiles and drones at what were alleged to be American bases in Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and even the Sultanate of Oman.
In Iran’s official and semi-official media, whenever Iran strikes targets in neighbouring countries, responsibility is never openly acknowledged. Instead, the reports merely quote international media, as though some third party was responsible. Yet, before long, the spokesman for Khatam al-Anbia Headquarters issued a statement declaring: “Countries collaborating with the enemy are not safe from attack.” This has become the routine of both the Iranian media and military spokesmen.
In Persian, we journalists are expected to emphasise the collateral damage and civilian casualties suffered by Iran’s adversaries. For the managers of the local media, the missiles launched from Iran matter far more than the targets they hit in neighbouring countries or any American military installations in the region.
