The Arab world used antisemitism for decades whenever regimes were in trouble or threatened by populist uprisings to try to redirect anger outside. The Nazis didn't create a new strain of antisemitism - they took advantage of the existing antisemitic feeling in Germany that was already there. The new Right antisemitism of Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens is tapping into and extending the neo-Nazi fringe that never left the American Right. Progressive "anti-Zionists" can reliably position Jews as the rich/white/powerful uber-oppressors.
Which brings us to Iran.
At this time, Iran doesn't need to mobilize antisemites from within Iran but from outside. Normally we see their Arabic language media playing on Arab antisemitism to shame Arab nations who dare have peace deals with Israel.
In English, though, their targets are American antisemites. This article in Abna24 shows how it works today:
Trump sacrifices American soldiers for power-hungry Israel: Iran's security chief
Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Ali Larijani has once again denounced the US president for destabilizing the West Asia region, emphasizing that Donald Trump, with his ill-founded aspirations, has been sacrificing American troops for the power-seeking Israeli regime.Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Ali Larijani has once again denounced the US president for destabilizing the West Asia region, emphasizing that Donald Trump, with his ill-founded aspirations, has been sacrificing American troops for the power-seeking Israeli regime.In a statement on Monday, Larijani reprimanded Trump, saying his delusional behavior, has turned the self-made slogan 'America First' into 'Israel First,' ignoring the consequences for the United States.
We see Larijani is hoping to get more support from the American antisemitic far-Right as a promising avenue to pressure the Trump administration to stop the war. He positions America as a slave to Israel's interests. Which is a neat inversion from the "Big Satan/Little Satan" rhetoric that Iran has usually been using since 1979.
And of course, for the purposes of this argument, Larijani is positioning himself not as a lifelong opponent of everything the US stands for but as a principled supporter of America First ideology - a friend, if you will.
Antisemitism is endlessly elastic, which is why it is employed by actors who cannot agree on anything else. Iran is saying that it has a lot in common with the antisemites on America's Right, whom they normally despise, and therefore they should partner up against their common enemy.
Once Iran reframes itself as the true defender of American interests against “Israel First” politicians, it is no longer merely attacking US policy. It is attempting to recruit Americans into a narrative where their own government is the captive of Jews.
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"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024) PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022) |
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