23.06.2025 14:41
In 2003, the world-renowned Time magazine featured an image with half of Saddam Hussein's face erased under the title "The World After Gaddafi," and now it has presented its readers with a cover showing part of Khamenei's face torn. The magazine's cover raises questions about receiving a secret intelligence message regarding a potential assassination attempt on Khamenei.
The U.S.-based publication Time magazine presented its readers with a cover featuring a partially torn image of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in its June 19 issue. The cover, titled "The New Middle East," particularly resonated on social media.
PAST ISSUES OF THE MAGAZINE CAME TO THE AGENDA
Following the publication of the cover, social media users brought up similar issues from Time's past years. In 2003, the magazine featured a visual with a painted poster of Saddam Hussein under the headline "Life After Saddam" before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and in 2011, it published an image with half of Muammar Gaddafi's face erased under the title "The World After Gaddafi."
CLAIM OF SECRET INTELLIGENCE
The criticisms directed at the magazine for presenting Khamenei in a torn manner with a similar cover raised questions about receiving a secret intelligence message regarding an assassination attempt on Khamenei. The timing of the cover image, published immediately after Israel's attacks on Iran, also drew attention. Many users argued that the magazine's move could be a media manipulation aimed at legitimizing the idea of regime change in Iran.
"A MEDIA STRATEGY BEFORE AN OCCUPATION"
On the X (formerly Twitter) platform, one user stated, "Western media is preparing the ground for a new aggression against Iran. What they call the 'New Middle East' consists of fragmented, failed states." Another user questioned, "It hasn't even been a week, how did a new Middle East emerge? Was there a ceasefire, did the regime collapse, was there a revolution, did I miss something?" Some users more explicitly expressed their belief that Time's cover line is "a media strategy before an occupation."