A document obtained by the Daily Mail lists more than 10,000 individuals from Iran, Syria and Lebanon who were allegedly granted Venezuelan passports, raising concerns over potential infiltration into the United States.
The improbable image fills the front page of hardline daily Vatan-e Emrooz, presented as part of the Islamic Republic’s “new generation of resistance.”
But analysts told Iran International it is less a reflection of reality than a carefully crafted narrative aimed at shoring up support for Tehran after its 12-day war with Israel — the worst direct military confrontation in their fraught history.
The war left hundreds of civilians dead, damaged infrastructure and deepened economic strain. In its aftermath, the Iranian establishment has worked to project resilience and unity, even among citizens who defy its strict social codes.
The Vatan-e Emrooz cover accompanied a story built around a Foreign Policy article by an Iranian-American academic which argued that some young Iranians are rallying behind Tehran’s anti-West, anti-Israel stance in the war’s aftermath.
Following the bruising conflict, Tehran embraced nationalist symbols it long suppressed, with mythological tales and ancient monarchs adorning public billboards.
For author Arash Azizi, whose book What Iranians Want: Woman, Life, Freedom examines political and social change, this type of imagery is part of a familiar playbook.
Referring to a domestic militia and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, he described Vatan-e Emrooz as “a hardliner outlet, traditionally close to the Basij, which is a section of the IRGC … known for a very sensational sort of tabloid-style headlines.”
The paper, he added, has long featured stylish young who appear supportive of the establishment to imply that “even sections of the population that flout the hijab rules … nevertheless supports its foreign and military policies.”
Holly Dagres, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, studies Iran’s younger generations and regularly tracks Gen Z and Gen Alpha trends.
She said that while this visual contrast between appearance and ideology is not new—women without hijab have backed hardliners, and chador-wearing women have voted reformist—the cover is nonetheless a strategic push.
“It’s for the regime to make a point, especially at a time when it has historically high anti‑regime sentiment, that ... we have the support of these individuals too that don’t usually fit the stereotypical box of what a good Islamic citizen in our view is," Dagres told Iran International.
No gesture by chance
Visual communication expert Siavash Rokni, who holds a PhD in communication and researcher in popular music at McGill University, sees deliberate messaging in the picture’s design: the woman’s ear “out of her scarf,” the bright blue clothes “evoking kind of happiness and rejuvenation and the future,” and her phone with a peace sign “as kind of the representation of Gen Z.”
Rokni also points to the way she holds her phone — not in a natural texting or scrolling posture, but almost like a prop, gripped sideways with fingers loosely wrapped around it. The position, he suggests, looks staged.
It’s an example of what Rokni calls the Islamic Republic’s turn to “soft war”—countering Western “soft power” via curated cultural imagery. The same effect is visible, he added, in rap lyrics and music videos where some artists are either funded or influenced by the IRGC to echo establishment talking points, while others openly align themselves with them.
Gen Z beyond reach?
Activist Tara Dachek, part of Iran’s Gen Z and now living abroad, sees the image as a sign of weakness, not strength. “The Islamic Republic is drowning — these are its last desperate gasps,” she told Iran International. Such visuals, she says, reflect “fear, repetition and desperation” rather than genuine engagement.
Having left Iran six years ago, Dachek believes the cover only affirms that her “generation is on the right path — the regime has already lost us.”
"Even back then, I didn’t trust state media. I never followed their news because I knew it wasn’t truth — it was survival wrapped in a lie," said Dachek.
Among younger Iranians, the dissatisfaction runs deep.
Surveys show that nearly 75% of Iranians—including many Gen Z individuals—opposed mandatory hijab, with 84% favoring a secular state over the Islamic Republic, according to GAMAAN — a Netherlands-based research organization that conducts large-scale online surveys of Iranians.
Gen Z, who wasn't yet born at the time of the 1979 revolution, frequently expresses opposition to both political Islam and compulsory dress codes while embracing global cultural values.
Despite Tehran’s efforts to project unity, young Iranians may not be as passive or easily swayed as officialdom believes. Shaped by years of protest and repression, they remain among the most vocal critics of the Islamic Republic.
According to the report published Thursday, the list includes names, passport numbers, birth dates and other identifying information for people who would not ordinarily qualify for Venezuelan citizenship. The document covers passports issued between 2010 and 2019 and was compiled by a former Venezuelan official whose identity was not disclosed.
The Daily Mail said the source worked in Venezuela’s internal investigations branch and that his position was confirmed by former US ambassador to Venezuela James Story. The official gave the list to US authorities earlier this year. The Department of Homeland Security did not confirm whether it had received the document and declined to say if it was tracking individuals listed.
Report points to Iran-Venezuela links
The Daily Mail report suggests the alleged scheme may have operated with help from Venezuelan government officials during the presidency of Nicolás Maduro. It also highlights long-standing ties between Tehran and Caracas, including political and security cooperation.
Former US officials cited in the report expressed concern that Iranian-linked individuals may have used the documents to enter South America legally, and later crossed into the United States illegally. The report ties the passport operation to past US findings that Venezuelan travel documents were vulnerable to misuse.
Former officials cite terrorism risk
Jonathan Gilliam, a former FBI agent and counterterrorism analyst, told the Daily Mail that the risk of attacks inside the United States is high following the US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June. “They get people here, get them in place, and get them supplied and ready to go,” he said.
Thor Halvorssen, a former Venezuelan ambassador for anti-narcotic affairs, said some of the passport recipients may already be inside the United States and integrated into daily life. He said that some might hold jobs in sensitive sectors, but that their identities are difficult to verify. “They are everywhere,” he said.
The document reportedly includes more than 10,000 names, with about two-thirds listed as male.
Diplomatic missions under scrutiny
Halvorssen and others said many of the passports were signed or approved by Ghazi Nasr Al-Din, a former Venezuelan diplomat who served in Syria and was later placed on the FBI’s terror watchlist. In a 2015 notice, the FBI accused him of supporting Hezbollah travel and fundraising efforts.
The Venezuelan Embassy in Damascus denied wrongdoing in a statement to the Daily Mail. “These accusations are false,” the statement said. “Venezuela is a country and a territory of peace and love.”
A 2006 US State Department report warned that Venezuelan travel and identification documents were easy to obtain by individuals not entitled to them, during Hugo Chávez’s presidency.
US Customs and Border Protection reported that more than 380,000 Venezuelan nationals crossed the US-Mexico border between January 2021 and October 2023. In the same period, authorities recorded 382 encounters with individuals on the FBI terror watchlist and 1,504 Iranian nationals, according to the report.
