TEHRAN- An Iranian artist has articulated the nation's perspective on recent developments through the platform of a major Venezuelan publication. 

On Tuesday, the Venezuelan national newspaper El Correo del Orinoco featured a detailed commentary by Iranian cartoonist and graphic designer Masoud Shojai Tabatabai. The piece, which presents an analysis of current conditions in Iran and critiques the adversarial policies of the United States and the Zionist regime, was published under the title “Neither Wars nor Threats Will Impose a Lie!”

The article originated as a personal correspondence, with the Iranian artist sharing his insights with his Venezuelan colleague Iván Lira. In a gesture of solidarity, Lira enriched the text with an introduction and conclusion before facilitating its publication to a broad Latin American readership. The full text of this significant op-ed is presented below.

Neither wars nor threats will impose a lie!

Iván Lira – Masoud Shojai Tabatabai

I write with urgency to echo a message I have received from Iran, a message from Masoud Shojai Tabatabai, a great Iranian artist and cultural promoter and director of the Tehran Cartoon House. He is a key figure in employing comic art as a tool for cultural diplomacy and anti-imperialist resistance. Under his leadership, major artistic and cultural events with international impact have been held, including critical exhibitions on the genocide in Palestine and the role of the United States and Israel—making him an important actor in the struggle for the autonomy of the Global South’s narrative.

Here I share his message with you:

“Hello Iván, today I came to Mehr News Agency to use the agency’s internet to publish images related to the biennial, the judges, and the winners on my page. As you know, in my country, many problems have arisen due to the interventions of the United States and Israel. Trump and Netanyahu personally declared war against Iran. These bitter events, alongside bombings, sanctions, and psychological warfare, have affected the reality of our people’s lives.

In Iran, 47 years after the Islamic Revolution, those who left the country and migrated to the United States, in cooperation with Israel, have organized activities against Iran around the world and use symbols such as the Lion and Sun flag alongside the Israeli flag.

Despite all this, on January 12, 2026, millions of Iranians took to the streets to protest these pressures. But the global power of money, using fake news and severe media blockade, does not allow the real voice of our people to be heard. I am certain that they will also attempt to delete this message.

Some exiled artists, such as Saman Torabi, who lives in Canada, hold cultural and satirical events and exhibitions against Iran. These individuals are not inside Iran. I speak with those who have remained inside the country. Fortunately, the current situation is calm, and if Trump does not drag us into war, we will not face problems.

The biennials, competitions, and art halls organized by the Iran Cartoon House continue on their path, and activities are proceeding normally. Exhibitions are open to the public, awards will be presented at the appropriate time, and images and videos will be published as usual.

So please be our voice, the voice of real people inside Iran. Be careful not to be deceived by fake news—news that seeks to push the country toward chaos and war. Thank you for publishing this message.” — Masoud

At a time when bombs, sanctions, and psychological operations seek to break the will of nations, voices like that of Masoud Shojai Tabatabai remind us that the first bastion of dignity is truth and memory. This message, written from the heart of Iran under military threats, media warfare, and information sabotage, is not merely an exposure; it is a declaration of existence in the face of those who wish to erase an entire country from the political and symbolic map of the world.

When imperialism pretends to speak “in the name of the people,” one must immediately listen to the voices of those who have stayed, who create, who work, and who resist within their own borders. Satirical art, political cartooning, and cultural spaces in Tehran remain active despite the pressures; this itself is evidence that Iranian society is neither defeated nor isolated, but rather engaged in a full-scale struggle for the independence of its own narrative.

These voices must not be rendered invisible, and the loudspeaker must not be handed solely to certain exiles who legitimize the agenda of war and sanctions. From our Latin America—which itself has faced bombings, sanctions, media warfare, and threats of intervention—this testimony resonates as a restless mirror for hegemonic power and as a call for effective solidarity among the nations of the Global South.

Being the voice of real people inside Iran is not the repetition of slogans; it is the defense of every nation’s right to narrate its own history, express its own pain, decide its own future, and have no spokesperson appointed by its enemies.

I publish this message as a commitment—a commitment not to expose fabricated lies, to distrust any narrative that always portrays certain countries as “problems” and never as “victims” or “rights-holders.” Let the words that arrive from Tehran not be lost in the clamor of censorship, but circulate, be shared, and provoke debate; so that they may become yet another wall against the normalization of war and genocide. So that it is clear that in the face of drones, blockades, and campaigns of hatred, people still have the last word—and as long as artists, journalists, and citizens are willing to break the information blockade, lies will never be able to be imposed as destiny.