In Iran’s Capital, Murals Offer Tributes and Threats Against Israel

As tension between Israel and Iran has escalated in recent months, a wall in central Tehran has become a message board for telegraphing threats against Israel.

The messages appear on huge murals on the side of an office building in Palestine Square belonging to a government agency and change often. They are written in both Hebrew and Persian to make sure nothing is lost in translation. And as the crisis between the two countries has deepened, the rhetoric has become sharper.

In January, the message to Israel read, “Prepare your coffins,” with the backdrop of missiles being fired. In April, text on the Star of David read, “Die from this fear.” Last week, a photo collage of hostages still being held in Gaza by Hamas, the militant group which Iran supports, carried a grim statement: “None of the hostages will be released.”

After Israel carried out a retaliatory wave of airstrikes targeting Iranian military sites and air defenses protecting energy facilities on Saturday, the mural changed again. It now says, in Hebrew: “Another storm is coming.”

The Center for Islamic Propaganda, an institution that is under control of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, oversees the murals, which appear on an office building owned by the center.

Supporters of Iran’s government often gather for protests in Palestine Square donning checkered kaffiyehs and waving the flags of Palestine and Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia that Iran also backs. A tent is set up to collect aid donations for Palestinians and Lebanese.