This is the empire of the lens at work. The longue durée in a time of blackoutsThe Western script is seductive in its simplicity: Economic suffocation leads to protests, protests reveal a regime’s fragility, and external “liberation” becomes inevitable. His voice, amplified by Farsi-language satellite channels and social media, has become a central node in the Western narrative. As a new media alliance rises from the Global South, as Iranians navigate both internal repression and external manipulation, and as alternative corridors of trade bypass Western chokeholds, the empire of the lens finds its focus blurring. The empires of the lens, like those of clay and stone, will eventually crumble to dust.

Source: Dhaka Tribune January 13, 2026 05:48 UTC