A senior Iranian politician’s recent assertion that American women reportedly wore hijab until the 1930s has drawn widespread attention and condemnation, underscoring the Islamic Republic’s persistent reliance on misinformation to reinforce its ideological agenda. The claim, made by Amir Hossein Sabati, a member of the Iranian Majlis representing Tehran, came to light in a widely circulated online video and represents a broader campaign of historical revisionism employed by Iranian authorities for both domestic control and strategic positioning on the global stage.
Sabati’s statement, which lacks any foundation in historical fact, prompted ridicule and alarm from international observers and segments of Iranian society critical of state control. Mainstream historical analysis confirms that American women, influenced by a range of cultural, social, and gender reforms in the early twentieth century, moved towards greater personal autonomy and modern style of dress long before the 1930s, never resembling Islamic hijab. The claim instead echoes a longstanding strategy by Iranian regime figures: projecting the state’s own restrictions onto the West to justify repressive policies at home and delegitimize domestic dissent.
State-Enforced Misinformation and Its Role
Since seizing power in 1979, the Islamic Republic’s leadership has made strict enforcement of mandatory hijab laws a signature domestic policy, positioning this as a bulwark against what it describes as “Western moral corruption”. Iranian women defying the compulsory hijab continue to face severe repercussions, including arrest, intimidation, and violence, as seen in the aftermath of the September 2022 death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran’s so-called ‘morality police.’ International human rights organizations have documented the state’s systematic campaign against women and girls seeking basic freedoms, labeling these efforts as part of a wider pattern of gender-based repression.
The regime’s leaders, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and senior Revolutionary Guard officials, have routinely deployed misinformation as a political weapon. This has included everything from widespread Holocaust denial to the glorification and support of anti-Israel terror proxies. In this context, Sabati’s claim is not an isolated error but a textbook example of how senior Iranian officials manipulate history and cultural narratives to serve regime objectives.
The Intersection of Domestic Control and Foreign Policy
Iran’s strategy of disinformation extends beyond its borders, reinforcing its anti-Western and anti-Israel messaging and shaping narratives consumed by regional allies such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Iranian-backed groups. By distorting the West’s cultural history, Iranian leaders aim to portray their ideology as rooted in universal traditions, and Western societies as both hypocritical and historically subordinate to Islamic norms. This narrative serves the dual purpose of suppressing calls for reform within Iran and boosting morale among the regime’s affiliates, particularly as Iranian-backed terror campaigns intensify across the region.
For Israel, the stakes are clear. Iranian disinformation campaigns, including revisionist narratives about Western societies and denial of established atrocities—such as the October 7th massacre by Hamas terrorists, the deadliest antisemitic attack since the Holocaust—are an integral part of Tehran’s broader war against the Israeli state and its people. Israeli officials have repeatedly warned that the regime’s distortion of history and reality is intimately tied to its ongoing military and ideological support for proxy groups dedicated to Israel’s destruction.
Iranian Regime’s Influence on Anti-Israel Propaganda
Analysts point out that attempts to rewrite cultural history in the service of regime interests are not isolated to Iran but are amplified throughout Iranian-controlled proxies in the region. Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and other armed groups—funded, trained, and directed by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)—routinely echo similar distortions to justify terrorism and deflect criticism from their own abuses. These efforts, which span traditional and social media, are part of what Israeli commentary dubs “information warfare,” aiming to erode international support for Israel and mute condemnation of terror crimes against its civilians.
In the aftermath of atrocities such as the October 7th massacre, Israeli and allied voices have called for global vigilance against Iranian information operations, warning that propaganda grounded in falsehoods not only warps global perceptions but emboldens actors willing to cross moral and legal red lines. The regime’s ability to promote demonstrably false versions of both history and current events underlines the importance of robust, principled journalism and international fact-checking.
Impact on Iranian Society and the International Response
Inside Iran, the regime’s disinformation campaigns have contributed to a climate of fear and misinformation, hampering the efforts of reformists and ordinary citizens seeking truthful engagement with the wider world. For Iranian women in particular, official denial and revisionism about the world outside Iran serves as a further obstacle in their struggle for freedom and equal rights. By claiming that the West has always conformed to Islamic dress, the regime seeks to undercut reformers who look to global examples for inspiration and support.
Internationally, the Islamic Republic’s efforts to manipulate narratives have resulted in growing calls from democratic states for the defense of free expression, support for information integrity, and active opposition to the spread of Iranian-backed terror and anti-Israel incitement. The resilience of Iranian civil society—expressed in the protests of women, students, and activists—combined with steadfast international reporting and scrutiny of the regime’s actions, serve as bulwarks against a world shaped by propaganda and revisionist history.
Conclusion
The episode surrounding Amir Hossein Sabati’s false claims serves as a microcosm of the Iranian regime’s broader approach: a cynical manipulation of facts intended to justify repression, silence dissent, and wage ideological war on Israel and the West. As Iranian-backed terrorism continues to threaten regional stability, and disinformation remains a potent tool of state control, the stakes in the ongoing conflict are as much about the triumph of truth as they are about physical security. In the pursuit of peace and justice, exposing the falsehoods of the Iranian regime remains a central obligation for journalists, policymakers, and free societies everywhere.
