Naqtehzan Spokesperson
Enduring two fierce wars and facing enemies who target Iran's very survival has made society more receptive to the discourse of power and less inclined toward any futile legalistic reading of the status quo.
According to Ambassador Arjan's report, Farhikhtegan newspaper wrote: Enduring two fierce wars and facing armed enemies who are aiming for the survival of Iran, made the taste of the Iranian society more receptive to the literature of power and less willing to any fruitless "legal reading" of the current situation. Responding to this need was not an easy task in a situation where the war has not yet ended and its dimensions are increasing day by day; But "Ismail Beqaei Hamaneh", the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the head of the Public and Media Diplomacy Center, tried to answer this need as much as possible.
A look at people's opinions about him shows that Mr. Speaker has been successful in this direction to a large extent. Baqaei became the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 11 Mehr 1403 by order of Seyyed Abbas Araghchi. A diplomat who was previously the ambassador and permanent representative of Iran at the UN office in Geneva and had closely managed legal and multilateral cases. From the very first months, he showed that he did not intend to just "declare a position"; He has come to establish and narrate Iran's position. Baqaei also served in the 13th government as an advisor and assistant to Shahid Hossein Amirabdollahian, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
In the days when military attacks and political pressure had reached the highest level, Beqai took the path that became his signature and hit the heart of the enemy's combined war. From the very beginning, he tried to establish the narrative that "to justify their illegal war against Iran, the American authorities are repeating a "big lie" - that is, Iran's attempt to acquire nuclear weapons - and this is a war that "can neither be accepted by repeating lies to the world nor justified by false excuses". He wrote against the insults of American officials to Iranians: "We will not bow down to bullying." In an interview with Ambassador Arjan, his words took on a civilizational logic: "A rich civilization like Iran will never surrender... Iranian people have learned throughout history to stay alive and strong in the face of injustice."
The first month of 1405 began with massive attacks on Iran's civilian infrastructure. On April 13 (the day of nature), Baqaei published a verse by Hafez: "Not every tree should endure the punishment of Khazan / Gholam Hammat Sarum who has this step." In April, he posted a poem by Simin Behbahani next to the pictures of the restoration of a damaged bridge: "I will make you a homeland again!" Although with the clay of his life..." and wrote in a tweet in Arabic: "If you see the teeth of a male lion standing out, you will never think that the lion is smiling." The tweet was quickly reflected in the Arabic-language media and received well by those who should have received the message.
A month later, another video of Baqai became popular. In a press conference on May 14, he answered a reporter who asked: "America is a superpower, why don't you withdraw?" He answered briefly and concisely: "We are also a superpower." This 8-second round trip quickly became a trend. The next day, X (former Twitter) removed the blue tick from his account and called the continuation of this action "arbitrary and without reason, continuing the pattern of censorship and digital banditry" and said that it will not prevent "the sound of Iran's diplomacy from resonating".
From Pluribus to Divan Hafez in Cuban
When the United States announced that it would prevent Iranian officials from buying from a wholesale store in New York, Baghai wrote: "They celebrate the boycott of a nation's life and issue a statement to boycott the store card." And he likened Washington to the "Pluribus" series, where "everyone has to believe the narrative with a closed mind, staring at Washington's lips." He called this method "so naive and threadbare" that it shows "what naive mentality started the illegal war against the Iranian nation." On September 18, he said about the Council of Governors: "They will attack, then they will send Iran to the Security Council!" And he warned that the result of this process is nothing but "further politicizing the agency and destroying the foundations of the non-proliferation regime."
And on September 23, he said about the regional meeting that was not held, "the countries of the region were expected to be opportunistic." One of the most different reactions about the American subsurface trapping in September was related to Baqaei in the press conference after this operation. In response to a question about the seizure of the American submarine, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: "This vessel was not captured, but was captured" and added: "The booty is also permissible." A position that was noticed by the media and became an added value next to Iran's successful operation.
On October 15, in response to Marco Rubio's speech in Athens, he wrote that he "reduced the history of the West to a straight and unified line" and this is "exactly an example of anachronism"; And what he offers is "not a philosophy of history; It is a distorted version of history designed to justify militant policies and create a political myth. America wants to justify naked bullying under the mask of "philosophy of history". On the same day, he said, "Inverting historical facts cannot remove the reality of America's repeated treaty-breaking from the minds of public opinion" and announced the understanding between Iran and Oman regarding safe routes to and from the Strait of Hormuz.
On the 20th of Mehr, Baqaei congratulated Hafez National Day and said, "Hafez is a part of our Iranian-Islamic culture and civilization" and said to Diwan Tafal: "We should not tell the hadith of Dost except to Hazrat Dost / who keeps familiar words." Then, with an irony that quickly went viral, he advised Rubio that his advisers "present him with a volume of Hafez's Divan, which is probably also translated into Cuban Spanish, so that he can get acquainted with the delicacy of Iranian civilization and culture." "What does America have to do with Greece today?" he asked. And he said "Iranian civilization has always been established and continued by connecting and building." He added that America "even considers Iran's soil, mountains, natural resources and environment as its legitimate goal." Another decisive and important position was that "What is the use of membership in the NPT when they attack Iran's nuclear facilities?"
In another important part, Baqaei changed Trump's position about Zelensky by recalling Henry Kissinger's sentence that "being an enemy of America is dangerous, but being a friend of America is deadly" and said "some people are like Nazi dogs"; And in the end, about the booing he received during the performance of the "Arash" show, he gave a respectful answer: "My response is against the enemies of Iran, not my compatriots; Let's pass..." But why did a successful survival appear?
For many years, Baqai has managed both legal and multilateral cases and has personally been active in foreign politics. This makes his answers go beyond slogans. When Rubio rereads history, he responds with the concept of "anachronism"; When America restricts diplomats, it talks about the "headquarters treaty"; When the case goes to the Board of Governors, from "safeguards" and "non-proliferation regime". This dominance has two results. First, his answer can be used and cited by specialized and international media; As we can see, one of the most extensive international coverage of a press conference in Iran is related to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Second, the depth of complex regional and international issues gives the general audience a sense of authority. In this process, the role of spokesperson consultants should not be ignored.
In addition to carrying out the responsibility of spokesperson, Baqaei also fills the hands of the media for coverage and adopts its complex, deep and difficult international positions in war conditions in such a way that it is both preserved and understood at the society level. In an era where the taste of social media users has been reduced to short clips of several seconds, compressing a complex position into a single sentence is an important skill in itself. The fast rhythm of reactions and so-called having an answer makes the meaning of the event form from the point he determines.
3. Using cultural capital as a bridge between politics and collective identity
The verses of the Qur'an, Hafez, Saadi, Ferdowsi, etc., are not decorative in Baqa'i's words, and by the way, they have an important function. When the opposite party talks about ancient Greece and Rome or the ambassador of a country in a brazen act speaks against the Iranian media with a poem by Hafez Irani, responding in the same way moves the war of narratives from the political level to the civilizational level to defeat the other party in a field in which it basically has no tools. In the meantime, the effect of referring to cultural capital strengthens the national issue - as the source of Iran's power - and creates a mechanism in which cultural-civilizational identity and national power are reproduced.
4. Humor and irony as asymmetric weapons
References such as "Halal American spoils", "Naziabad dog", reference to the series "Pluribus" and allusion to the fact that the US Secretary of State is Cuban do two things at the same time. They take the tone of the official response out of diplomatic dryness and, on the other hand, multiply the impact and durability of the message. Humor also allows the harshest criticisms to be used with a stylish and acceptable cover for the international media in a calm diplomatic atmosphere.
The ability to restore public trust in diplomacy
Product survival success is not a formula; It is the simultaneous result of several features that were reviewed. In the end, it became clear that a good, short and timely position will find its own lasting path. In this way, the position of spokesperson has been upgraded from an individual and ordinary position to an all-round media role, which can even have the capacity to restore public trust in diplomacy.