The ‘Axis of Resistance’ Media Machine is far-reaching in the Middle East

OPINION — Saudi Arabia suffered a painful defeat in the information war against the Houthis. The Houthis’ media strategy was effective in painting Saudi Arabia as the cause of Yemen’s dismal economic state, emphasizing the importance of providing humanitarian assistance, and creating pressure to rein in the Saudi-led coalition. The Houthi media campaign was likely designed by and coordinated with Iran’s IRTVU in Beirut, where its media outlet Al-Masirah is based. As Israel fights Hamas on the ground, it will be facing a similar onslaught by Iran’s “media axis” and should consider how to prepare accordingly.

That Iran is training its proxies how to wage information warfare was recently noted in Hezbollah expert Matt Levitt’s podcast, “Breaking Hezbollah’s Golden Rule.” Levitt explained that Tehran’s close partner Hezbollah runs a bootcamp in Beirut which teaches recruits from Iran’s “axis of resistance” how to create and amplify disinformation and influence operations. It is not coincidence that other groups supported by Tehran, including the Houthis and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, also run their media operations out of Beirut despite the fact that their organizations are located in other countries altogether. It is also worth noting that Iran-led media efforts have a presence in the UK and Europe.

The superficial similarity between the Israeli and Saudi scenarios are obvious. They both involve larger, wealthier, and more advanced countries fighting rogue non-state actors trained and equipped by Iran to use asymmetric capabilities and terrorism from within densely populated areas. In both cases, the Iranian proxy seeks to build and disseminate a David vs. Goliath narrative to establish an advantage in the court of public opinion as well as on the battlefield.

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Israel will have three key priorities in its PR war against Hamas.

1) Maximizing freedom of action in terms of the intensity of its campaign.

2) Maximizing the window of time during which its campaign will retain broad international support and there is limited pressure for a ceasefire.

3) Maintaining a positive international image among the general public as a country with a moral imperative to protect its citizens while avoiding Palestinian civilian casualties to the extent possible. 

As Jerusalem seeks to promote these objectives, it is likely to encounter significant pushback because a massive and ruthless terrorist organization is unlikely to be excised from the general population neatly and quickly. Any allegations of Israeli missteps during the conflict– verified or not – will likely be amplified by the Iran-led media campaign to pressure Israel to prematurely end its campaign while leaving Hamas’s infrastructure intact.

The first tactic to expect from “resistance” media outlets is the promotion of Iran-backed groups as the legitimate defenders of the people they rule. They do this by framing the group primarily within the context of the country’s external conflict rather than its internal dynamics. In totalitarian regimes, such as those of Hamas and the Houthis, it is virtually impossible to conduct any sort of opinion polls, so claims of popular support for these groups are difficult to prove or disprove. At the same time, it is impossible to deny the extent to which these groups victimize their own population.

Second, “resistance” media have cast the dismal economic states of countries ruled by Iranian proxies as the result of sanctions or blockades. The goal of this is two-fold: to deflect blame for the misery of the populations under their control to the West, while creating international pressure to loosen the blockades in a way that will facilitate the flow of greater amounts of dual-use goods and the smuggling of materiel.

Third, the Iran-led media outlets exaggerate the need for and benefits of humanitarian assistance. In Yemen, as in Gaza, the regimes and their mouthpieces will emphasize the point that there is never enough foreign aid given the gravity of the situation. As money is fungible, allowing this injection of aid to continue is, at best, subsidizing the regime’s misrule by enabling it to continue allocating resources towards more pernicious ends and, at worst, lining the regime’s pockets directly.

Organizations with expenditures in the tens or hundreds of millions of dollars per year can face difficulty tracking expenses and vetting suppliers in the best of circumstance – let alone war zones in unfamiliar countries with large informal economies and institutionalized corruption.

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In response to these tactics, Israel should seek to emphasize three important messages:

1) Hamas’s fight against Israeli civilians should not be mistaken as analogous for the fight for Palestinian rights. Hamas has an extensive history of summarily executing its (Palestinian) opponents, torturing journalists, conducting arbitrary detentions all while enriching itself at the expense of its own population. Even if these groups do have substantial support among some sectors of the population, there are also undoubtedly significant segments that are victimized by their continued rule. By taking on the anti-Israel mantle, Hamas seeks to justify or cover up its crimes against Palestinians. At the same time, by provoking a war and leaving civilians exposed to Israel airstrikes while its fighters and weapons are safe below ground – Hamas has clearly demonstrated the contempt or indifference it has for the lives of Palestinian civilians. Palestinian rights groups should have a strong interest in promoting this distinction as well or risk conflating their cause with a foreign terrorist organization.

2) The lion’s share of the blame for Gaza’s economic collapse belongs to its rulers. It is inconceivable that an enclave like Gaza, which lacks a functional and effective legal system and is ruled by a terrorist organization, could have a burgeoning economy. This is especially true when that same terrorist regime invests hundreds of millions of dollars of its limited budget into weapons and tunnels each year in order to provoke conflict rather than developing any sort of industry that can enable the population to benefit from the global economy. It is also important to note that in some cases, the shortages of goods aren’t so much fictitious as they are artificial. As fuel is one of the most essential commodities for everyday life, the regimes often stockpile vast quantities of it. The shortage of fuel in Yemen was not the result of lack of supply but rather Houthi regime hoarding; this enabled them to line their pockets by selling vast quantities on the black market for a premium. Likewise, it is well-known that Hamas retains fuel stockpiles while its civilian population and hospitals struggle to power their generators. It has similarly been reported that Hamas uses its authority over Gaza’s borders and smuggling routes to create scarcity which enables the price-gouging of Gazans.

3) As the absolute rulers of their enclaves, Hamas shamelessly skims, steals, and exploits humanitarian assistance for their own benefit. In Gaza, there is no meaningful way to guarantee where the money and supplies end up and who they benefit. This problem is compounded by the fact that international organizations do not have the gall to stand up to the regimes, as recently demonstrated in both Yemen and Gaza. Of course, blockades hurt and aid helps, but the fundamental problem is a government that terrorizes investors, kidnaps foreigners, and prioritizes war over growth. Well-intentioned efforts to improve the lives of Palestinians cannot be advanced by simply throwing more money at the problem.

The “axis of resistance” is prepared for this war and has crafted its message to appeal to Western audiences. The struggle to dominate the information space proved a difficult task for the Saudis, who have since been pressured by their Western partner to stop fighting and start negotiating even though they do not have the leverage needed to reach a favorable agreement.

Israel cannot afford to ease up on its campaign against Hamas like the Saudis did (under great pressure) vis-à-vis the Houthis; this is an especially unappealing option as the Saudi decisions to pursue a unilateral ceasefire, ease the blockade, and negotiate with the Houthis has failed to end the Houthi threat and alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Houthi-held North Yemen.

Israel cannot be slow and reactive in its messaging if it seeks to protect its core interests regarding freedom of action in the intensity and duration of its campaign. The team of Israeli professional and volunteer spokesmen must succeed where the Saudis have failed, or risk being forced to prematurely conclude the campaign to dismantle Hamas.

The Cipher Brief is committed to publishing a range of perspectives on national security issues submitted by deeply experienced national security professionals. 

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