TEHRAN - Mehdi Mohammadi, in Chapter 6 of 'Mirage of Shadows', sheds light on the primary strategy adopted by the West and Israel to incite and sustain the riots that unfolded within Iran in 2022.

The author delineates the perpetual existence of grounds for protest within every nation, including Iran. The Iranian populace grapples with diverse social, economic, and financial challenges, providing a fertile breeding ground for discontent. However, the spontaneous eruption of protests in Iran wasn't the sole cause behind the intensity of the 2022 riots. What transpired that year was a calculated manipulation by the West and Israel, leveraging the existing unrest and molding it into a profound and unmanageable upheaval through the means of cognitive warfare.

Cognitive warfare represents a sophisticated and intricate strategy designed to exploit the vulnerabilities inherent in human cognition and communication systems to achieve specific strategic objectives. By leveraging an understanding of how individuals process information and formulate decisions, those engaging in cognitive warfare can effectively manipulate perceptions and influence outcomes, often in ways that remain subtly concealed from the target audience's immediate awareness.

This form of warfare integrates a blend of cyber, informational, psychological, and social engineering capabilities to exert influence over perceptions, often in tandem with other instruments of power. In essence, cognitive warfare involves the weaponization of public opinion by external entities to shape public and governmental policies, destabilize institutions, and exert control over societal narratives. At its core, cognitive warfare heavily relies on emerging communication technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, to orchestrate its operations and achieve its objectives.

Central to cognitive warfare is the deliberate fostering of discord and the erosion of cooperation within targeted populations. Techniques employed include accentuating divisions, fostering polarization, and exploiting emotional vulnerabilities through adept manipulation. The ultimate aim of cognitive warfare encompasses delegitimizing institutions, discrediting authorities, instilling distrust, desanctifying societal values, fostering disillusionment, and undermining social cohesion. It is crucial to differentiate between cognitive warfare and cyber warfare, as these domains often exhibit overlapping characteristics. While cyber warfare typically targets data, information, and software, cognitive warfare directs its focus towards influencing beliefs, values, norms, and modes of thinking.

This modern form of warfare represents an evolved variant of soft power that leverages contemporary cyber media channels to mount strategic attacks on critical thinking and rational decision-making processes. Whether pursued offensively or defensively, the overarching goal of cognitive warfare remains consistent: to shape perceptions, sow doubt in official information sources, and diminish public trust.

With the pervasive expansion of the Internet and its advanced iterations, coupled with the rapid development of social networks and mobile-accessible media platforms, the battleground of cognitive warfare extends to the very fabric of human consciousness. The contemporary individual finds themselves immersed and entangled within the digital realm, reflecting a global landscape where billions of individuals were Internet users as of July 2023. 

The majority of people in Iran are social media users. Iranians are most active on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), both of which are owned and controlled by Western entities. 

Mohammadi previously explained that the group of Iranians the West and Israel were the most adamant on influencing was the Gen Z. People aging from 15 to 24 years old, apart from being easier to sway, also have a large presence on social media and spend a significant amount of time surfing the Web each day. The masterminds of the 2022 riots were especially successful in plaguing the cognition of Gen Z’ers in 2022 and making them believe that they were on the verge of a grand “revolution” because of their close contact with this group of citizens through social media. 

While the West and Israel managed to plague Gen z’s perception of the reality on the ground, they also began to lionize violent rioters and encourage others to follow on the footsteps of such “national heroes.” The enemy’s successful use of social media eventually led to many of the tragic and disturbing events that shook Iran in fall of 2022. 

To be continued…