A prison has appeared in a bustling square in Tehran, the capital of Iran.
Inside the makeshift prison on an advertisement board, an actor dressed as U.S. President Donald Trump wears a mask and wig. The actor shakes the bars, sleeps on a bed, and performs the President's signature 'YMCA' dance.
According to a report by The New York Times on October 22, this type of 'performance propaganda' is unusual in Iran, which has used large advertisement boards for political messaging. The initiative was reportedly organized by a Tehran municipal agency.
The performance mocks the U.S. President while displaying images of war damage in the background.
Street propaganda in Iran has become increasingly provocative since the outbreak of war in February. Last summer, an advertisement in Tehran's Enghelab Square featured an image of President Trump lying in a graffiti-covered coffin.
The coffin bore a threatening message in Persian that read, 'We will kill Trump,' which sparked controversy.
President Trump has responded with provocative political messages on social media, posting AI-generated images that mock Iranian leaders or depict them being annihilated by U.S. military firepower.
Unlike previous propaganda in image or video form, the 'Trump in prison' display has captured the attention of Iranian citizens who typically pass by street propaganda without a second glance.
This advertisement is located in Tajrish Square, a wealthy residential area and a major traffic hub in northern Tehran, near a market. Unlike Enghelab Square, which is known for political rallies and propaganda boards, Tajrish Square is not typically associated with political slogans.
The actor portraying Trump wanders around the prison cell, which contains a bed, toilet, and sink, waving at the crowd. Citizens stopped to take photos with their phones, some laughing, while drivers honked their horns.
However, there is one action the actor does not perform: looking at the screen behind him.
The screen displays footage of a recent tragedy at a wedding hall in Iran, where casualties occurred due to U.S. airstrikes last month. A yellow police line crosses the screen, with the caption, 'Ignoring this scene is a crime.'
This propaganda appears aimed at highlighting the wedding hall bombing incident in Khuzestan, Iran, which resulted in significant casualties due to U.S. bombs.
The New York Times noted that public sentiment toward the Iranian regime has sharply divided since the government violently suppressed nationwide anti-government protests in January. However, anger toward the U.S. President, who initiated the war, remains widespread.
Omid Memarian, a senior analyst at the Middle East-focused research institute DAWN, stated that the Iranian regime has struggled to broaden anti-American sentiment beyond its hardline base for a long time, but this war has changed the dynamics. He remarked, 'The propaganda apparatus has regained momentum,' emphasizing that despite the overwhelming military superiority of the U.S., Iran is not intimidated and is unafraid to confront America, which is the core message of the Iranian regime.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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