Examining the Role and Narration of the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization in the (۲۰۲۲ AD/۱۴۰۱ SH) Protests in Iran

AbstractObjective: This study analyzes the role of the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK) in representing and steering the nationwide protests of autumn ۲۰۲۲ in Iran from the perspective of psychological operations and hybrid warfare. It demonstrates how the organization sought to construct a fabricated social reality against the Islamic Republic of Iran through targeted narrative-building.Method: The research adopts a descriptive–analytical approach using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), based on Norman Fairclough’s three-dimensional model (۱۹۹۵) and Teun A. van Dijk’s cognitive–ideological framework (۲۰۰۶). Data were purposively collected from the organization’s official media outlets (Simaye Azadi, Iran Azadi, statements of the National Council of Resistance, and affiliated social media channels) from September to December ۲۰۲۲ and systematically analyzed.Results: By employing techniques such as emotional provocation, antagonistic binary construction (us vs. them), appropriation of the slogan "Woman, Life, Freedom," simulation of the scale of uprising, making hero of protesters, victimization, persistent labeling of the ruling system, and the discursive linkage of internal and external "Resistance," the MEK produced a fully ideological and regime-change–oriented narrative of the protests. In doing so, it played an active role in the project of hybrid and cognitive warfare against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mahsa Amini functioned as a "Discursive nodal point," while the Iranian woman was framed as the "Revolutionary Subject," constituting the central signifiers of this narrative.Conclusion: During the ۲۰۲۲ protests, the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization did not merely reflect reality; rather, it acted as an active agent in constructing a fabricated social reality and engineering public opinion. Its performance should be understood as part of a broader strategy of narrative warfare and psychological operations against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

کلیدواژه ها:

۲۰۲۲ Iran Protests ، Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK) ، critical discourse analysis ، Hybrid Warfare ، Media Narrative Construction ، Psychological Operations