Iran International
The appointment of a military adviser by Iran’s new Supreme Leader triggered a wave of ridicule on Iranian social media, with users mocking both the decision and the figure chosen for the role.
Users on X and Instagram circulated the announcement with laughing emojis and sarcastic commentary, questioning the move and turning it into a fresh round of online satire.
“I first thought this was a joke, but the news is real,” one user wrote shortly after the reports appeared online.
The adviser named in the decree was former Revolutionary Guards commander Mohsen Rezaei, a longtime political figure who has repeatedly run for Iran’s presidency but never succeeded.
Another post mocked the circumstances of the appointment: “This is good news. Apparently, no one else is left alive, so Mohsen Rezaei has been appointed military adviser.”
Some users played with the language of the announcement itself, replacing official terms with parody.
“Mohsen Rezaei has been appointed military adviser to the command of recycled and non-recycled cardboard,” one comment read, using a pun aimed at Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, whom critics refer to sarcastically as a “cardboard leader.”
The nickname reflects jokes online that he has rarely been seen publicly since assuming power, with supporters sometimes carrying cardboard cutouts of him at gatherings.
Others suggested the appointment reflected heavy losses within the security establishment.
“The fact that Mohsen Rezaei got a position means every Guards commander must have been wiped out and they had to bring him back,” another user wrote.
Several comments also mocked Rezaei personally.
“You’re making fun of him, but the only reason Mohsen Rezaei is still alive is that belt buckle,” one user wrote, referring to a widely shared meme about the former commander.
“For drones, the angle of the belt buckle makes them think he’s coming when he’s actually going,” the user joked.
Reaction to remarks at funeral ceremony
The ridicule intensified after a video circulated of Rezaei speaking at the funeral of former senior adviser and Defense Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani.
In the remarks, Rezaei said Iran was already winning in multiple arenas.
“Even now we are in victory. Politically, defensively and economically we are victorious at this very point,” Rezaei said in the speech.
He argued that the United States had weakened itself through confrontation with Iran.
“America attacked Iran and made itself smaller while making us bigger,” he said, adding that Iran would emerge from the conflict with greater influence in the region.
Online reactions to the remarks were swift, with many users reposting clips of the speech alongside sarcastic captions or parody edits.
One post read: “Someone admit this man to a psychiatric hospital.”
Longstanding subject of online satire
Rezaei has repeatedly run for president over the past two decades.
He entered the presidential race in 2005, 2009, 2013 and 2021 but failed to win in any of the contests.
In recent years, his repeated candidacies and public statements have turned him into a recurring subject of humor among Iranian internet users.
A recurring joke on Persian social media is that whenever an election is held anywhere in the world, users comment that “Mohsen Rezaei Mir-Ghaed is also a candidate,” a meme referencing his repeated appearances on Iranian presidential ballots.
Some of his television appearances and campaign debates also generated viral moments online, particularly when he outlined ambitious economic plans or discussed new “unknown military tactics.”
For many users, the latest appointment simply revived a familiar online pattern. As one post put it: “Looks like Mohsen Rezaei is finally getting closer to his dreams.”
