Mohammad Ghaderi on power transitions, Western media narratives, and why resistance politics are reshaping global geopolitics.
by Sri Lanka GuardianMohammad Ghaderi, former editor of Mehr News Agency and the Tehran Timesby Our Foreign Affairs Editor
Mohammad Ghaderi is an Iranian journalist and international affairs analyst, known for his deep expertise in geopolitics, national security, and global strategic affairs. He holds a degree in Political Science from Imam Sadegh University and has led major Iranian media organizations, including serving as the former editor of Mehr News Agency and the Tehran Times newspaper. His work focuses on understanding power shifts, strategic conflicts, and the role of media in shaping public perception.
Recently, Sri Lanka Guardian conducted an exclusive interview with Ghaderi, during which he discussed Iran’s position in the emerging multipolar world order, the changing narratives in the Middle East, the role of modern journalism amid information warfare, and the future of Iran’s relations with the international community. Ghaderi’s perspective is shaped by his belief that the existing global system is weakening and being challenged by emerging powers. He states plainly, “The world is experiencing a period of transition to a new order,” and argues that “the Iranian-led resistance discourse is one of the most important pillars in shaping the new order.”
The interview also addresses how Iran is portrayed in Western media. Ghaderi criticizes the dominant narrative, noting that “the Western media generally conveys negative news about Iran” and that it seeks to depict Iranians as a threat to global peace and security. He believes this bias is not only deliberate but also deeply rooted in the political interests of Western powers.
In the following conversation, Ghaderi explains how shifting power blocs and media narratives are influencing global geopolitics and shaping the direction of future international relations. He provides a blunt assessment of current events and offers a perspective that challenges widely accepted assumptions about the world order.
Question: In the current global environment where we are witnessing increased conflicts and changes in power blocs, how do you assess Iran’s position in the emerging multipolar world order?
Answer: Given the rapid developments accompanied by high violence in the international space, it comes to mind that what important event is happening that the world is moving towards greater tension?
The study of the history of international relations reminds us that whenever the existing world order collapses and new players decide to establish a new order by entering the arena of global power, the tension between the guardians of the status quo and these emerging players will naturally increase. This experience can be seen at least in the two periods of the First and Second World Wars.
Today, too, due to the collapse of the infrastructure of the existing world order and the weakening of the pillars of this order, especially the United States and three European countries, the world is experiencing a period of transition to a new order. In this period, emerging powers are rebuilding different concepts of power in the international system by forming smaller coalitions, in a way that challenges the nature of the current structure and provides a new definition of it.
The general assessment of international relations analysts and thinkers is that the Iranian-led resistance discourse is one of the most important pillars in shaping the new order that is being formed, and this discourse, with a very high penetration coefficient, has even influenced Western societies. One of the signs of this influence is the change in the general view of global citizens on the Palestinian issue after October 7, 2023, when they realized the inner workings of the Zionist terrorist sect and decided to confront it.
In other words, Iran, as a great country with a long history and civilization, a leader in culture, science and technology, and a nation that has shown that it has never bowed down to oppression and has not paid tribute to oppressive and occupying powers, today, in the most sensitive point in the world in terms of geopolitical, geostrategic and geoeconomic aspects, has not only become a major obstacle to the realization of the inhuman and aggressive goals of the guardians of the existing international order, but also, by being at the center of a new power bloc, has become the standard-bearer for the establishment of a new world order centered on justice and the liberation of human society from the yoke of American domination. This issue has not only disrupted the equations of traditional powers, but also, from an ideological perspective, has challenged the doctrinal foundations of Zionist thought. This is why we see that Netanyahu and Trump consider Iran their main enemy and have risen to confront it with all their might.
Q: Many global audiences are exposed to Iran mainly through moments of crisis. What aspects of Iran’s political, social, or cultural reality do you think are most absent from today’s international discourse?
A: This is the special task of the media empire of Western civilization and the liberal capitalist system, which, through various propaganda methods, changes the audience’s perception, deprives them of the right understanding, and by censoring and distorting reality, shows the audience the image it likes. Therefore, you see that they generally convey negative news about Iran to the world’s public opinion and try to present Iran and Iranians as dangerous entities for global peace and security. This is while, by the way, contrary to the profit-oriented and pleasure-seeking foundations of humanism in Western liberal capitalism that sacrifices everything for its own interests, Iran and the resistance ideology, due to following the humanizing school of Islam as the last divine religion, seek to liberate all human beings from oppression and injustice. Not only does it not have the will to conquer, occupy, and plunder other countries, but whenever the cry of an oppressed person has been raised from any part of the world and with any religion or creed, it has been the Iranians who have quickly rushed to their aid.
This is the secret of the influence of the discourse of pure Islam and resistance, which the West has launched the Iranophobia and Shiaphobia project for years in order to counter. The important point is that this spirit of Iranians is not unique to the Islamic Republic era and has been the case in the past as well. This is why we see in history that in different eras, Western colonialists have been hostile to Iranians, such as what the British did in World War I and the Americans did afterwards, especially in the coup against the nationalization of the oil industry. Therefore, I believe that if there were a fair view in the Western media, it would tell other aspects of Iran and Iranians to the people of the world, including a rich culture such as altruism, morality, tolerance for followers of other religions, peace, as well as scientific capabilities and movement at the frontiers of knowledge (biology, medicine, nanoscience, space science, nuclear science), as well as numerous tourism capacities (tourism, pilgrimage, health).
Q: How has the current situation in the Middle East—especially Gaza and regional tensions—changed the way narratives are formed, both inside and outside the region?
A: In my opinion, what is currently happening in the West Asian region is the result of at least eight decades of occupation, oppression, crimes and plunder against an innocent nation that is the victim of Western greed and the inhuman thinking of the terrorist Zionist sect.
As you know, the West Asian region is the cradle of human civilization and is located at the crossroads of the West-East and North-South connections of the world. However, this region, with the colonial perspective of the Europeans, especially Britain, has been involved in a cancerous tumor called Israel for decades.
It may not be necessary to explain that the peoples of this region, especially the Palestinians, after the occupation of their land and over the past years, adopted all kinds of methods of interaction with the Westerners and the Zionists, but none of them were fruitful, and therefore what happened on October 7, 2023 was the natural result of eight decades of Zionist behavior against the Palestinian people and should not be considered an initial action.
However, the American-Zionist media empire is trying with all its might to distort reality and, by calling the original owners of the holy land of Palestine terrorists, is trying to introduce itself as having the right. This is the same path that suddenly changed direction after the Al-Aqsa storm, and the world’s public opinion realized the truth of the matter due to the depth of Israel’s crime in Gaza and understood the evil inner core of Zionism in a very clear way.
To be more precise, today, the world’s public opinion has first realized the root of the problem, which is the occupation of the fake Israeli government, and is no longer deceived by the false narratives of the Western media. Secondly, it has come to the conclusion that the Palestinian people, both in Gaza and the West Bank, have no choice but to resist. More importantly, the expansion of the Zionist occupation and crimes beyond the borders of occupied Palestine, namely Lebanon and Syria, has shown how close to reality Iran’s warnings about the evil nature of Zionism and its European and American supporters have been. This is why you saw with your own eyes how the people of the world, even citizens of Western societies in various cities and capitals of the world, expressed their disgust for Israel and its rulers, shouted in support of the cause of Jerusalem, and demonstrated with the flags of Iran and resistance groups, as well as its leaders and commanders.
Q: To what extent do you think modern journalism still has the power to shape public perception, rather than simply reinforcing existing political loyalties and biases? In an era where information warfare is openly acknowledged, can journalism truly remain impartial, or has impartiality itself become a controversial concept?
A: I believe that journalism in general in today’s world has become a tool in the hands of those in power and has been deprived of its professional and moral mission, due to the dominance of the profit-seeking ideas of the humanist ideology of liberal capitalism. Of course, the ideology of Marxism also functioned in this way during its lifetime, as neo-Marxists do today.
Mohammad Ghaderi, former editor of Mehr News Agency and the Tehran TimesHowever, in the current era, given the rapid growth of communication technologies, including social networks, messengers, and artificial intelligence tools, although on the one hand it has prepared the ground for abuse by those in power and has made them better equipped in cognitive-perceptual wars, on the other hand it has also made the people of the world more awake, so that public opinion is no longer just a mere consumer like in the past and can use this tool to distinguish truth from fakes.
However, in my opinion, although there is basically no such thing as impartiality, ethics-based journalism committed to human principles can still properly fulfill the task of informing and enlightening public opinion and prevent the change of public perception by the mercenaries of power and wealth.
To be more precise, if we picture the two sides of the front as follows: on one side, the front of truth and on the other side, the front of falsehood and Satan, then a journalist who truly writes in the path of truth is in fact the one who advocates for the true rights of the people and should no longer be blamed for this bias.
Q: How should media professionals manage the tension between national responsibility and universal principles of journalism, especially in times of international pressure or sanctions?
A: In my opinion, this division is fundamentally wrong because the criterion for the right or wrongness of a behavioral pattern is not national responsibility or universal principles, but rather advocacy of the right, which is considered a value.
To be more precise, if you mean by universal principles of journalism following the models common in the West, these principles are not necessarily valuable. On the other hand, if national responsibility is to serve an anti-people and dictatorial political system, it is certainly not valuable. So it is better to evaluate each case according to its own circumstances.
Accordingly, when a democratic political system is under oppressive pressure from global powers and the rights and interests of its people are violated by them, a journalist and media professional who is obligated to enlighten and strive to achieve the rights of his nation cannot avoid narrating the truth under the pretext of conflicting with global principles. Especially when he sees that those claiming freedom of expression and free information are distorting the truth using various psychological techniques.
Q: Do you consider dialogue between Iranian media and international media institutions possible in the current political climate, or is mistrust too deep-rooted?
A: I believe that as long as justice and equality do not prevail and the mainstream media in the world look at global equations through a “center-periphery” lens and their only goal is to fulfill the interests of their masters, we cannot talk about establishing a fair and correct dialogue. They imagine that they are superior and others are their slaves, and therefore they consider their behavior and demands to be absolute rights and those of others to be pure falsehood. This is why they are not willing to dialogue, but generally seek to dictate. So it is natural that with such a view, we cannot expect to establish favorable conditions for dialogue with them.
Q: Looking to the future, what worries you most—and what gives you the most hope—about the future of Iran’s relations with the international community?
A: The developments in the international system are rapidly moving beyond the tyrannical and unilateral dictatorship of the Western powers, especially the United States of America, and that is why the further we move forward, the more evil and criminal they are in preventing the formation of a new order that is beyond their will.
Accordingly, my concern is more about the atrocities and crimes they are committing (such as the killing of women, children, and oppressed people in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and possibly in the future in Iraq and other parts of the West Asian region, and the possibility of waging war against Iran). But what gives me more hope is the awakening of the people of the world towards these murderous terrorists, which will pave the way for the fulfillment of the divine promise of the emergence of the savior of the end times.
God has promised in the Quran that the world will be inherited by the oppressed and the downtrodden. We believe in this promise of God and we believe that in the present era, everything is ready to fulfill this promise and overthrow the arrogant tyrants and criminals. As history shows, no oppressive tyrant remains and has been destroyed.
Mohammad Ghaderi on power transitions, Western media narratives, and why resistance politics are reshaping global geopolitics.
by Our Foreign Affairs Editor
Mohammad Ghaderi is an Iranian journalist and international affairs analyst, known for his deep expertise in geopolitics, national security, and global strategic affairs. He holds a degree in Political Science from Imam Sadegh University and has led major Iranian media organizations, including serving as the former editor of Mehr News Agency and the Tehran Times newspaper. His work focuses on understanding power shifts, strategic conflicts, and the role of media in shaping public perception.
Recently, Sri Lanka Guardian conducted an exclusive interview with Ghaderi, during which he discussed Iran’s position in the emerging multipolar world order, the changing narratives in the Middle East, the role of modern journalism amid information warfare, and the future of Iran’s relations with the international community. Ghaderi’s perspective is shaped by his belief that the existing global system is weakening and being challenged by emerging powers. He states plainly, “The world is experiencing a period of transition to a new order,” and argues that “the Iranian-led resistance discourse is one of the most important pillars in shaping the new order.”
The interview also addresses how Iran is portrayed in Western media. Ghaderi criticizes the dominant narrative, noting that “the Western media generally conveys negative news about Iran” and that it seeks to depict Iranians as a threat to global peace and security. He believes this bias is not only deliberate but also deeply rooted in the political interests of Western powers.
In the following conversation, Ghaderi explains how shifting power blocs and media narratives are influencing global geopolitics and shaping the direction of future international relations. He provides a blunt assessment of current events and offers a perspective that challenges widely accepted assumptions about the world order.
Question: In the current global environment where we are witnessing increased conflicts and changes in power blocs, how do you assess Iran’s position in the emerging multipolar world order?
Answer: Given the rapid developments accompanied by high violence in the international space, it comes to mind that what important event is happening that the world is moving towards greater tension?
The study of the history of international relations reminds us that whenever the existing world order collapses and new players decide to establish a new order by entering the arena of global power, the tension between the guardians of the status quo and these emerging players will naturally increase. This experience can be seen at least in the two periods of the First and Second World Wars.
Today, too, due to the collapse of the infrastructure of the existing world order and the weakening of the pillars of this order, especially the United States and three European countries, the world is experiencing a period of transition to a new order. In this period, emerging powers are rebuilding different concepts of power in the international system by forming smaller coalitions, in a way that challenges the nature of the current structure and provides a new definition of it.
The general assessment of international relations analysts and thinkers is that the Iranian-led resistance discourse is one of the most important pillars in shaping the new order that is being formed, and this discourse, with a very high penetration coefficient, has even influenced Western societies. One of the signs of this influence is the change in the general view of global citizens on the Palestinian issue after October 7, 2023, when they realized the inner workings of the Zionist terrorist sect and decided to confront it.
In other words, Iran, as a great country with a long history and civilization, a leader in culture, science and technology, and a nation that has shown that it has never bowed down to oppression and has not paid tribute to oppressive and occupying powers, today, in the most sensitive point in the world in terms of geopolitical, geostrategic and geoeconomic aspects, has not only become a major obstacle to the realization of the inhuman and aggressive goals of the guardians of the existing international order, but also, by being at the center of a new power bloc, has become the standard-bearer for the establishment of a new world order centered on justice and the liberation of human society from the yoke of American domination. This issue has not only disrupted the equations of traditional powers, but also, from an ideological perspective, has challenged the doctrinal foundations of Zionist thought. This is why we see that Netanyahu and Trump consider Iran their main enemy and have risen to confront it with all their might.
Q: Many global audiences are exposed to Iran mainly through moments of crisis. What aspects of Iran’s political, social, or cultural reality do you think are most absent from today’s international discourse?
A: This is the special task of the media empire of Western civilization and the liberal capitalist system, which, through various propaganda methods, changes the audience’s perception, deprives them of the right understanding, and by censoring and distorting reality, shows the audience the image it likes. Therefore, you see that they generally convey negative news about Iran to the world’s public opinion and try to present Iran and Iranians as dangerous entities for global peace and security. This is while, by the way, contrary to the profit-oriented and pleasure-seeking foundations of humanism in Western liberal capitalism that sacrifices everything for its own interests, Iran and the resistance ideology, due to following the humanizing school of Islam as the last divine religion, seek to liberate all human beings from oppression and injustice. Not only does it not have the will to conquer, occupy, and plunder other countries, but whenever the cry of an oppressed person has been raised from any part of the world and with any religion or creed, it has been the Iranians who have quickly rushed to their aid.
This is the secret of the influence of the discourse of pure Islam and resistance, which the West has launched the Iranophobia and Shiaphobia project for years in order to counter. The important point is that this spirit of Iranians is not unique to the Islamic Republic era and has been the case in the past as well. This is why we see in history that in different eras, Western colonialists have been hostile to Iranians, such as what the British did in World War I and the Americans did afterwards, especially in the coup against the nationalization of the oil industry. Therefore, I believe that if there were a fair view in the Western media, it would tell other aspects of Iran and Iranians to the people of the world, including a rich culture such as altruism, morality, tolerance for followers of other religions, peace, as well as scientific capabilities and movement at the frontiers of knowledge (biology, medicine, nanoscience, space science, nuclear science), as well as numerous tourism capacities (tourism, pilgrimage, health).
Q: How has the current situation in the Middle East—especially Gaza and regional tensions—changed the way narratives are formed, both inside and outside the region?
A: In my opinion, what is currently happening in the West Asian region is the result of at least eight decades of occupation, oppression, crimes and plunder against an innocent nation that is the victim of Western greed and the inhuman thinking of the terrorist Zionist sect.
As you know, the West Asian region is the cradle of human civilization and is located at the crossroads of the West-East and North-South connections of the world. However, this region, with the colonial perspective of the Europeans, especially Britain, has been involved in a cancerous tumor called Israel for decades.
It may not be necessary to explain that the peoples of this region, especially the Palestinians, after the occupation of their land and over the past years, adopted all kinds of methods of interaction with the Westerners and the Zionists, but none of them were fruitful, and therefore what happened on October 7, 2023 was the natural result of eight decades of Zionist behavior against the Palestinian people and should not be considered an initial action.
However, the American-Zionist media empire is trying with all its might to distort reality and, by calling the original owners of the holy land of Palestine terrorists, is trying to introduce itself as having the right. This is the same path that suddenly changed direction after the Al-Aqsa storm, and the world’s public opinion realized the truth of the matter due to the depth of Israel’s crime in Gaza and understood the evil inner core of Zionism in a very clear way.
To be more precise, today, the world’s public opinion has first realized the root of the problem, which is the occupation of the fake Israeli government, and is no longer deceived by the false narratives of the Western media. Secondly, it has come to the conclusion that the Palestinian people, both in Gaza and the West Bank, have no choice but to resist. More importantly, the expansion of the Zionist occupation and crimes beyond the borders of occupied Palestine, namely Lebanon and Syria, has shown how close to reality Iran’s warnings about the evil nature of Zionism and its European and American supporters have been. This is why you saw with your own eyes how the people of the world, even citizens of Western societies in various cities and capitals of the world, expressed their disgust for Israel and its rulers, shouted in support of the cause of Jerusalem, and demonstrated with the flags of Iran and resistance groups, as well as its leaders and commanders.
Q: To what extent do you think modern journalism still has the power to shape public perception, rather than simply reinforcing existing political loyalties and biases? In an era where information warfare is openly acknowledged, can journalism truly remain impartial, or has impartiality itself become a controversial concept?
A: I believe that journalism in general in today’s world has become a tool in the hands of those in power and has been deprived of its professional and moral mission, due to the dominance of the profit-seeking ideas of the humanist ideology of liberal capitalism. Of course, the ideology of Marxism also functioned in this way during its lifetime, as neo-Marxists do today.
Mohammad Ghaderi, former editor of Mehr News Agency and the Tehran TimesHowever, in the current era, given the rapid growth of communication technologies, including social networks, messengers, and artificial intelligence tools, although on the one hand it has prepared the ground for abuse by those in power and has made them better equipped in cognitive-perceptual wars, on the other hand it has also made the people of the world more awake, so that public opinion is no longer just a mere consumer like in the past and can use this tool to distinguish truth from fakes.
However, in my opinion, although there is basically no such thing as impartiality, ethics-based journalism committed to human principles can still properly fulfill the task of informing and enlightening public opinion and prevent the change of public perception by the mercenaries of power and wealth.
To be more precise, if we picture the two sides of the front as follows: on one side, the front of truth and on the other side, the front of falsehood and Satan, then a journalist who truly writes in the path of truth is in fact the one who advocates for the true rights of the people and should no longer be blamed for this bias.
Q: How should media professionals manage the tension between national responsibility and universal principles of journalism, especially in times of international pressure or sanctions?
A: In my opinion, this division is fundamentally wrong because the criterion for the right or wrongness of a behavioral pattern is not national responsibility or universal principles, but rather advocacy of the right, which is considered a value.
To be more precise, if you mean by universal principles of journalism following the models common in the West, these principles are not necessarily valuable. On the other hand, if national responsibility is to serve an anti-people and dictatorial political system, it is certainly not valuable. So it is better to evaluate each case according to its own circumstances.
Accordingly, when a democratic political system is under oppressive pressure from global powers and the rights and interests of its people are violated by them, a journalist and media professional who is obligated to enlighten and strive to achieve the rights of his nation cannot avoid narrating the truth under the pretext of conflicting with global principles. Especially when he sees that those claiming freedom of expression and free information are distorting the truth using various psychological techniques.
Q: Do you consider dialogue between Iranian media and international media institutions possible in the current political climate, or is mistrust too deep-rooted?
A: I believe that as long as justice and equality do not prevail and the mainstream media in the world look at global equations through a “center-periphery” lens and their only goal is to fulfill the interests of their masters, we cannot talk about establishing a fair and correct dialogue. They imagine that they are superior and others are their slaves, and therefore they consider their behavior and demands to be absolute rights and those of others to be pure falsehood. This is why they are not willing to dialogue, but generally seek to dictate. So it is natural that with such a view, we cannot expect to establish favorable conditions for dialogue with them.
Q: Looking to the future, what worries you most—and what gives you the most hope—about the future of Iran’s relations with the international community?
A: The developments in the international system are rapidly moving beyond the tyrannical and unilateral dictatorship of the Western powers, especially the United States of America, and that is why the further we move forward, the more evil and criminal they are in preventing the formation of a new order that is beyond their will.
Accordingly, my concern is more about the atrocities and crimes they are committing (such as the killing of women, children, and oppressed people in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and possibly in the future in Iraq and other parts of the West Asian region, and the possibility of waging war against Iran). But what gives me more hope is the awakening of the people of the world towards these murderous terrorists, which will pave the way for the fulfillment of the divine promise of the emergence of the savior of the end times.
God has promised in the Quran that the world will be inherited by the oppressed and the downtrodden. We believe in this promise of God and we believe that in the present era, everything is ready to fulfill this promise and overthrow the arrogant tyrants and criminals. As history shows, no oppressive tyrant remains and has been destroyed.
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