The New York Times recently featured a video showing thousands of people gathered in Tehran’s Enghelab Square celebrating the announcement of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s new supreme leader.

Watching from Israel, where air-raid sirens punctuate daily life, the message the Times seemed eager to convey was unmistakable: the Iranian people stand behind their leadership and condemn the American and Israeli strikes on Iran’s government and military infrastructure.

Of course, photojournalists “reporting” from inside a brutal dictatorship — where the internet is throttled and information tightly controlled — cannot possibly provide an accurate picture of average Iranians. But because the mullahs’ talking points align with the Times, this obvious limitation is conveniently ignored.

The New York Times’ sympathy for the Islamic Republic is no secret. But its promotion of Iranian propaganda during this war has reached new heights, from its sanitized obituary of Ali Khamenei to its highly selective photographic coverage of the conflict.

The paper maintains a timeline of images and videos from across the region. There are thirteen pictures showing demonstrators in Iran supporting the Islamist regime or mourning the Supreme Leader. There are zero images of Iranians celebrating his demise or protesting the government. Many such images exist. They have been taken by brave Iranians and geolocated and verified by more serious news outlets.

The photographs from Iran tell another revealing story. Thirty-eight images depict damaged civilian sites or suffering Iranian civilians. Only one image shows a damaged Iranian military target. Compare that to a recent Times article showcasing dozens of images and descriptions of damaged American military installations. Relying solely on the Times, one might conclude that Iran targets military facilities while the United States and Israel indiscriminately bomb civilians.

That conclusion collapses under minimal scrutiny. Roughly half of the Iranian ballistic missiles fired at Israel carry cluster-bomb warheads — weapons designed to disperse explosives across wide civilian areas with no legitimate military objective. Meanwhile, the Times’ own photograph of thousands celebrating in Tehran reveals something else: crowds in Iran clearly do not fear being bombed from above.

A staged rally approved by the regime tells us little about public opinion. But it does reveal something important. Iranian civilians do not expect indiscriminate bombing from American or Israeli aircraft (their fear of being shot by the regime’s security apparatus on the ground is another matter). US and Israeli jets now operate freely over Tehran, yet thousands gathered openly in a crowded square.

Anyone living in Israel immediately recognizes the contrast. Here, the Home Front Command prohibits gatherings larger than fifty people because Iran and Hezbollah fire missiles indiscriminately at civilian population centers.

A missile striking a massive Israeli crowd would be celebrated by Tehran. If — God forbid — an Israeli missile struck a massive crowd in Iran, it would trigger international condemnation and an investigation in Jerusalem into what went so catastrophically wrong.

Of course, Israelis are not cowering in fear. Life continues — though we are somewhat bleary-eyed from the middle-of-the-night sirens. Schools are on Zoom but most businesses remain open. If you walk down the street and see people sitting in cafés, you might not even realize we are at war. Look a little closer, however, and you will notice the ubiquitous signs pointing to bomb shelters — and the quiet adjustments everyone has made.

This Sunday our family was supposed to celebrate the wedding of our firstborn with hundreds of friends. Like many Israelis, we have had to adapt. A large gathering simply isn’t possible right now. Maybe in Tehran, but not here.

We are in Israel, not Iran. There is an actual genocidal regime targeting us — not an imagined one. Unlike the editors in the New York Times newsroom, we are forced to see the world with open eyes.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)