'Iran And Its Proxies' Use Of AI-Generated Videos Violence U.S. And West To Violence' – A New MEMRI Study

With Special Foreword By Gen. (Ret) Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., USMC

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, September 22, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) has published a new study titled "Iran And Its Proxies Use AI-Generated Videos To Incite Youths In U.S., West To Violence, Seek To Discredit U.S., Threaten Spectacular Attacks – Including Missile Strikes On The White House, Statue Of Liberty, U.S. Forces."

Since the Iran war began on February 28, 2026, Iran and its proxies have been using AI imagery for public relations purposes – and to mock the U.S. – in a campaign that according to some is outmaneuvering the U.S. The videos are being disseminated across American social media platforms.

The MEMRI Cyber & Jihad Lab (CJL), whose coverage includes monitoring and documenting jihadi groups' use of AI, has been identifying and tracking AI-generated imagery created and disseminated by Iran and its proxies from the beginning of the war. While major media outlets have reported on some of these videos, that coverage has overlooked the threat that they pose: In addition to their propaganda value, they are aimed at inciting young Iran supporters to commit acts of violence in the West.

This report documents a broad and increasingly sophisticated use of artificial intelligence by Iranian state, regime-affiliated, and proxy media ecosystems to produce a rapid supply of emotionally charged propaganda tied to the current war and the wider confrontation with the United States and Israel. Across the materials collected here, AI is used not merely as a novelty or visual enhancement, but as an operational propaganda tool that allows Tehran and its allied networks to dramatize threats, project military reach, and amplify ideological messaging.

In his foreword to the report, MEMRI Board of Advisors member Gen. (Ret) Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., recently elected president of The Citadel, writes: "Armies have always used rumor, deception, intimidation, political messaging, and demonstrations of military power to influence adversaries and civilian populations… This MEMRI compilation is therefore both timely and concerning. It demonstrates that Iran and the network of armed groups aligned with it are already incorporating AI-generated material into their anti-American and anti-Israel information operations in the ongoing conflict. The examples collected here range from simulated Iranian missile strikes on New York and attacks on American aircraft carriers to depictions of the White House in flames, wounded American soldiers and coffins, and repeated portrayals of U.S. and Israeli military defeat."

He concludes: "Commanders, intelligence services, policymakers, journalists, and the public will have to assess military imagery in an environment in which realistic depictions of attacks, casualties, weapons systems, and battlefield outcomes can be manufactured almost instantly. Understanding how Iran and its proxies are already using these capabilities is therefore an essential first step. The material assembled in this study, together with ongoing reporting by the MEMRI Cyber and Jihad Lab (CJL) on Iran and its regional network, provides an important record of how that process is developing."

As the report's lead author, MEMRI Executive Director Dr. Steven Stalinsky, explains in Newsweek on March 30, 2026: "While the U.S. is fighting Iran and its proxies, Iranian regime officials, military commanders, and propaganda outlets continue to operate freely on American social media platforms, as they have for years. During this time of war, they are spreading misinformation in English and shaping global perceptions of the conflict… The Iranian regime is scoring asymmetrical victories in the information war, due in large part to this social media activity. Internet access is heavily restricted for ordinary Iranian citizens, but regime officials, who are allowed access and have millions of online followers in the U.S. and worldwide, provide a steady supply of fake news to an audience eager for their anti-U.S., anti-Israel, and anti-West messaging."

MEMRI Vice President Ambassador Alberto Fernandez writes of the new MEMRI CJL study: "A startling, timely revelation and analysis on how the Iranian regime is using cutting edge tech and AI in the propaganda war, impacting susceptible publics in the West as much as it does the audiences and battlefields of the Middle East."

The materials in this study, taken together, illustrate an emerging propaganda environment in which AI lowers the cost of producing high-impact strategic messaging, enables constant escalation through fabricated but persuasive battlefield imagery, and helps synchronize Iranian and proxy narratives across multiple theaters. What emerges from this study is therefore not just a record of provocative visuals, but evidence of a coordinated information ecosystem using AI to normalize violence, glorify retaliation, threaten adversaries, and shape perceptions of power, resolve, and regional momentum during a period of active conflict.

Government and media can request the full report or ask for an interview by sending an email to media@memri.org with "Tunnels Report" in the subject line.

ABOUT THE JIHAD & TERRORISM THREAT MONITOR (JTTM)
The MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) scrutinizes Islamist terrorism and violent extremism worldwide, with special focus on activity within and emanating from the Arab world, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran, as well as on attacks and activity in the West inspired and encouraged by the Islamic State (ISIS), Al-Qaeda, and other global jihad organizations. This activity includes lone-wolf attacks by residents of Western countries.

The JTTM monitors imminent and potential threats posed by various terrorist and violent extremist organizations – such as ISIS, Al-Qaeda and its affiliates, and emerging jihadi groups – and individuals. These threats, whether strategic, tactical, military, conventional, non-conventional, or cyber, may be against national security and public safety in the U.S. and the West, or against these countries' crucial interests and assets worldwide. It also examines and analyzes the ideological motivations behind these threats, and includes a decade and a half of archives of exclusive content on jihad and terrorism.

ABOUT MEMRI
Exploring the Middle East and South Asia through their media, MEMRI bridges the language gap between the West and the Middle East and South Asia, providing timely translations of Arabic, Farsi, Urdu-Pashtu, Dari, Turkish, Russian, and Chinese media, as well as original analysis of political, ideological, intellectual, social, cultural, and religious trends.

Founded in February 1998 to inform the debate over U.S. policy in the Middle East, MEMRI is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)3 organization. MEMRI's main office is in Washington, DC, with branch offices in various world capitals. MEMRI research is translated into English, French, Polish, Japanese, Spanish, and Hebrew.

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Kendra Heideman
Middle East Media Research Institute
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