‘Revenge is inevitable’: Iran ramps up propaganda war with violent billboards

People ride past a large billboard erected in central Tehran in May depicting the Strait of Hormuz sewn across President Donald Trump's lips.Morteza Nikoubazl / APIran‘Revenge is inevitable’: Iran ramps up propaganda war with violent billboardsAnti-U.S. messaging has intensified in recent weeks following the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, with artificial intelligence playing a major role.Listen to this article with a free profile00:0000:00ShareAdd to GoogleAug. 15, 2026, 5:00 AM EDTBy Max ButterworthThe billboards are state-sponsored, plastered across Iran’s capital and far from subtle. One features an image of President Donald Trump lying in a casket; another shows the White House on fire; a third is a parody of the American flag with skulls in place of the stars and bombs dropping from the stripes. Alongside ads for a multitude of products such as cars and shampoo, the giant billboards have become familiar sights to the people of Tehran in recent years. But since the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in an airstrike on the first day of the war launched by the United States and Israel, the messaging has become bolder and the tone more violent during the almost six-month conflict. After the supreme leader was killed in February, the Iranian regime posted banners of his son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, around Tehran. Vahid Salemi / APPictures of them captured by Iranian photojournalists over the last six months show people going about their daily lives next to the huge billboards with the violent imagery and messaging. One shows a busy intersection last month near Tehran’s central Enghelab Square, where a huge billboard featuring benign images of Khamenei was replaced with one of Trump lying in a casket, his hands together over his belly. Above: An image depicts the White House in flames with "blood for blood, an eye for an eye" written in Persian and Hebrew. Below: In Enghelab Square last month, a giant billboard...