PR in the Philippines

(SeaPRwire) –   Just hours before a two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran’s clerical regime was set to begin on Tuesday, the regime reportedly called on children and adults to form human shields around energy facilities. This move was a direct response to President Trump’s threat to destroy Iran’s energy infrastructure.

According to observers, the regime’s rationale for using civilians as cannon fodder is that a U.S. airstrike causing child or civilian casualties would significantly turn American public opinion against the war and generate domestic support for the regime in Tehran.

As high-level peace talks between the U.S. and Iran are scheduled to commence in Pakistan, Tehran is being characterized as a master of propaganda for its ability to manipulate global media, a skill said to surpass that of its allied forces in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, and elsewhere.

Iran expert Lisa Daftari told Digital that the theocratic state’s use of civilians to advance its war objectives is a central element of its decades-long strategy against the West. “The Islamic Republic is the Godfather of propaganda. It has spent 47 years mastering the art of making promises at negotiations while acting contrary to them on the ground. The Trump administration should enter these talks with extreme doubt. This regime has never honored its commitments regarding weapons, and there is no indication that this time will be an exception.”

She highlighted Tehran’s “history of using civilian infrastructure—such as hospitals, mosques, schools, and now power plants—as military shields. This tactic was employed in Lebanon via Hezbollah and in Gaza through Hamas. They are now repeating it within their own borders, coercing their own citizens. Iranians who do not comply face repercussions.”

Daftari, the Editor-in-Chief of the Foreign Desk, further stated, “Iran’s regime has always been ready to use its population as a shield. The current distinction is that they are doing so openly for cameras, in real time, with full awareness of which visuals will dominate international news broadcasts. This is propaganda. The two-week ceasefire has simply afforded them additional time to manipulate Western perceptions and advance their narrative warfare.”

At the outset of “Operation Epic Fury,” global media was saturated with reports from Iran of an airstrike that allegedly struck a girls’ school in Minab on February 28. Iranian authorities claimed the strike on Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school killed 175 people, predominantly children. The school was situated on the same street as IRGC facilities. The Pentagon initiated an investigation in March to examine allegations that a U.S. missile hit the school.

Last month, Iranian-American journalist Banafsheh Zand, who has monitored the reporting, spoke to Digital, noting the school’s long-standing presence and its alleged ties to Iran’s military. She stated that while the regime reports fatalities between 168 and 180, mostly girls aged 7 to 12, plus teachers and parents, the casualty numbers have not been independently verified.

“The casualty figures are confirmed only by regime sources,” she said. “Some local accounts suggested it was 65 boys. Sixty-five boys? What would 65 boys be doing at a girls’ school at 10:30 on a Saturday morning?”

U.S. administrations from both major political parties have designated Iran’s regime as a primary state-sponsor of terrorism.

On ‘Jesse Watters Primetime’ Thursday, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., asserted that the American media was “essentially… carrying water for Iran.”

Jonathan Ruhe, a fellow at JINSA, told Digital, “The regime aims to demonstrate to the Iranian people that it remains strong despite leadership losses and arsenal depletion, and to assert legitimacy by portraying itself as victorious against its perpetual foes, America and Israel.”

He said, “Similar to Hezbollah and Hamas, Iran employs civilians as human shields for propaganda. It shows no concern for the welfare of its citizens. The goal is to project an image of a fearless nation ready to make sacrifices for triumph. Civilian deaths, in fact, further the regime’s political objectives… Iran seeks to erode U.S. domestic support for the war by framing it as America acting on Israel’s behalf and by disseminating AI-generated falsehoods showing extensive damage and casualties at U.S. bases in the Middle East.”

The regime faced a severe legitimacy crisis in January when millions of Iranians demonstrated in the streets, calling for the end of the Islamic Republic.

The IRGC and the Basij paramilitary forces were instrumental in the mass killing of 45,000 Iranian civilians who protested the regime in January, as stated by President Trump in a national address. Earlier estimates had placed the death toll above 35,000.

Ruhe added, “As before the war, the regime also intends to discredit protesters and internal dissent by labeling them as American and Israeli agents. It is anticipated to intensify these propaganda activities during the ceasefire. The United States and its allies are also a target audience for these efforts.”

Further compounding its propaganda tactics, the regime routinely uses child soldiers. Amnesty International reports, “Eyewitness accounts and verified audiovisual evidence show child soldiers having been deployed at IRGC checkpoints and patrols, armed with weapons, including AK47pattern rifles.”

In the report, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty’s senior director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns, stated, “The Iranian authorities are shamelessly encouraging children as young as 12 to join an IRGC run military campaign, putting them in grave danger and violating international law, which prohibits the recruitment and use of children in the military. Recruiting children under 15 into the armed forces constitutes a war crime.”

Retired U.S. Naval Intelligence commander Jennifer Dyer told , “I would argue that the remnants of the regime lack sufficient human shields to deploy this tactic everywhere. The populace is too resistant. Protests have persisted in the country in recent days, and social media reports suggest a Basij crackdown on protesters following the announcement of the so-called ceasefire.”

In late March, Rahim Nadali, a deputy of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, declared the launch of a recruitment drive named “Homeland-Defending Combatants for Iran” for volunteers aged 12 and above. The campaign to enlist child soldiers was conducted in mosques and Basij paramilitary bases, seeking adolescents to become “combatants defending the homeland.”

Digital contacted Iran’s U.N. Mission in New York for comment.