Maybe it is AI peaking at just the right moment, maybe it is the long-lauded genius of Iranian cinema, or maybe it is simply that there is no better comedic villain-muse than Donald J. Trump—but the propaganda films, memes and roasts coming out of Iran are absolutely top-of-the-line.
And, this is when they were taken by surprise. Unlike Trump, who has gone on record to say he was presented with 20 options and carefully picked out Operation Epic Fury all by himself (Not a great choice, in hindsight, given it has been trolled as Operation Epic Fail/F***up, Operation McFlurry, Operation Epstein Files, or, when clubbed with Israel’s ‘Lion’s Roar’ branding—Operation Epic Furry.) Clearly, Macbeth’s “It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing” did not cross Trump’s mind while naming it. It probably is now.
Perhaps a name like Operation Cheapshot, Operation Quickie or Operation Regime Change would have been more apt—it might at least have helped him and his crew remember what their goals were going in.
Iran trolls Trump and Netanyahu with Lego AI-generated videos
Meanwhile, Iran, with no time to prepare, came up with Operation True Promise 4—a name that stresses truth, sincerity and continued self-defence against this (fourth) Israeli attack on its territory. It is a smart way of keeping tabs, and also reiterating the fact that Iran’s threats of retaliation are not mere sabre-rattling but promises meant to be kept. Every single time.
Then, there are films. With few friends left in Hollywood, the White House seems to be churning out its own propaganda—hammily mixing real footage of Iranian operations with Call of Duty-style graphics and clips from Argo, Zero Dark Thirty and The Hurt Locker. Iran, meanwhile, has leaned into Lego-style animations—using a familiar, whimsical aesthetic to reframe intense geopolitical conflicts, turning propaganda into an art form so compelling. Even Aditya Dhar would applaud the craft.
These Lego films have a playful, childlike feel, but the music is dark—the starry nightscapes, heroic Iranian figurines and stories packed with emotion, death and righteous revenge over a cartoonishly evil enemy. The treatment feels almost manga-like—underdog retaliation narrative, siege mentality and moral higher ground echo themes from Attack On Titan, a manga series beloved by Gen Z. They need no translation and travel effortlessly across social media. I could watch them on a loop, just for the feeling.
And, then there are the memes. A robed Khamenei senior, sitting beside a barrel of oil in the desert, doling it out to world leaders who trot up eagerly, holding out buckets. There’s the toy steering wheel next to the real steering wheel in reply to Trump’s claim that “the Ayatollah and me will control the strait together”. Posters slapped on to missiles—“Stupid Trump”, “Help me open Hormuz”. A bathrobe-clad caricature of a blond hair surrounded by weeping rag dolls. The now-iconic pink schoolbag.
Finally, the spokespersons. To be fair, anybody sounds smarter than Hegseth and company—but these guys are running the entire gamut from trolling comments like ‘Hey Trump, you’re fired’ to explaining stock market manipulations very simply and damningly. “Rise up, come out on to the streets, and take your country back from the greedy, violent, sexist regime of religion-invoking opportunists that is running it into the ground.” Four weeks ago, this is what Trump was urging the Iranian public to do. But such is the cool, fearless propaganda war the Iranians have waged that today, this could very well be Iran telling the American public what to do.