Iranians holding up pictures of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other slain leaders at a funeral for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards spokesperson Ali Mohammad Naini in Tehran on March 21, 2026.
Major media’s coverage of the Iran war is a disgrace, an endless wave of Trump-deranged journalistic malpractice emphasizing every difficulty in the US-Israeli effort, but it was still a shock to see The Economist opt for a cover headlined “Advantage Iran.”
The venerable 175-year-old British periodical historically favored economic liberty and cool-eyed analysis of world events; but it fell years ago into “reporting” from some alternative universe where elite-left delusions actually describe reality.
Yet a cover that shows an Iranian fist powerfully crumpling up a map of the Earth — when the regime is horrifically damaged, its might completely smashed and its people rooting for more bombs to fall — is a new low.
Let us consider all the top Iranian figures who won’t be able to read The Economist’s report on what they’re winning because they’re dead.
From the top: Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei; Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard; Abdolrahim Mousavi, the armed forces chief of staff; Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the brutal Basji forces; Ali Larijani, the country’s de facto post-Khamenei leader; Esmaeil Khatib, minister of intelligence.
Rear Adm. Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Defense Council; Maj.-Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, chief of the General Staff; Brig.-Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh, minister of defense; Brig.-Gen. Mohammad Shirazi, head of the Supreme Leader’s military office; Maj.-Gen. Gholamreza Rezaian, commander of the Police Intelligence Organization; Mohsen Mahdavi Kalateh, deputy minister of Intelligence; Esmail Dehghan, commander of the Revolutionary Guard air force; Brig.-Gen. Esmail Ahmadi, Basij intelligence chief; Qassem Qoreishi, Basij deputy commander.
The list goes on for dozens more — hundreds, maybe thousands, if you track lower ranks.
We’ve sunk their navy, annihilated their air defenses and are still taking out missile launch sites: Whenever they fire, we get one more.
Now we’re destroying the factories and shipyards that might build future drones, missiles and boats.
Tehran can still choke off the Strait of Hormuz — but only at risk of allied forces removing its ability to do that.
The entire region has turned against Iran, the Gulf Arabs are now begging the US and Israel to pummel Iran until the regime falls and key allies have committed to opening the Strait.
The Economist and the rest the defeat cultists may claim that anything short of regime collapse is a defeat for the United States, but that was never Epic Fury’s stated goal.
It’s a bonus if it happens, soon or months from now; ultimately, it’s up to the Iranian people, and/or to patriots among the regular forces who see the chance to free their country from the mullahs and the mafia that is the Revolutionary Guard.
We might wish for a White House that can better break through the media’s obsessive deceptions, but Ronald Reagan, FDR and Abe Lincoln would despair at penetrating this cloud of smug.
The market will have to render its full reckoning in the weeks and months ahead: It’s hard to see many people spending much money on “respected news sources” that can’t tell victory from defeat.