Nine-eleven was an objective demonstration of what SP Huntington conceptualised in his phenomenal work: The Clash of Civilisations and the Remaking of World Order. The clash is not over, but in the digital world that we live in, clashes first take place now as a clash of narratives in the digital space. The battle of narrative is lost or won in digital space long before battles are won or lost on the battleground. It is in this context that I view the ongoing street protests in Iran and how the recent attack by the United States in Venezuela may help Iran construct the narrative of the current American military adventurism in the Caribbean as a living example of what Iran, as a sovereign country, and the people of Iran may face next.

The American attack on Venezuela demonstrates a growing American-led geopolitical trend and a global digital narrative that Washington, through its military actions, continues to undermine the sovereignty of independent states. It reinforces and validates the Iranian claim that the protests in Iranian streets are not happening in a vacuum and that external forces are involved in the ongoing Iranian street protests.

Iran claims that both the United States and Israel want to take advantage of Iran's domestic unrest. After the American attack on Venezuela, Iran is least likely to take the American warning lightly. Even if the Iranian domestic dissent is based on years of economic pain that the people of Iran suffer, the current American attack on Venezuela undermines the legitimacy of the Iranian domestic........

© The Express Tribune