When Benny Sabti was a child growing up in Iran, he remembers receiving an unusual prize at school. «For being an excellent student, I received a Persian translation of Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler,» Sabti told Fox News Digital. «They translated Hitler’s book into Persian and distributed it to students.»

The experience stayed with him. Looking back, Sabti, now an Iran expert at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Israel, says it reflected a broader effort by Iran’s ruling clerical establishment to shape how young Iranians viewed politics, religion and the world around them.

Schools, mosques, workplaces and media all became part of an ideological ecosystem designed to reinforce loyalty to the regime. But critics of Iran’s leadership say religion itself was often not the ultimate goal.

«Faith for them is their tool,» Banafsheh Zand, an Iranian-American journalist and editor of the Iran So Far Away Substack, told Fox News Digital. «It’s not the end all to be all. It’s a tool that they can hide behind so that they can carry out all their criminalities.»

Religion and power

The Islamic Republic was founded on the doctrine of velayat-e faqih, or «guardianship of the Islamic jurist,» which places ultimate political and religious authority in the hands of the country’s supreme leader.

But Zand argues that in practice the system functions less as a purely religious project and more as a mechanism of political control. «It’s more like a mafia,» she said. «They use faith in order to keep people down.»

According to Zand, ideology is reinforced through a mix of financial incentives and intimidation. «They tried by incentive and money and buying people,» she said.

Programs tied to the Basij, a militia affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), have often provided benefits such as jobs, housing and education to families aligned with the regime.

«If you are poor and you join the Basij, they give you benefits,» Zand said. «But you have to go along with whatever it is that they offer you.»

Ideology embedded in daily life

Sabti says the Islamic Republic built a vast network designed to reinforce ideology in everyday life. «In banks, offices, public spaces and even in the bazaars, regime representatives walk between shops telling people it is time to pray and checking who is not attending,» Sabti said.

Mosques themselves are closely integrated into the political system. Friday prayer leaders often deliver sermons aligned with government messaging.

«There are 16 propaganda bodies in Iran,» Sabti said, describing a network of state institutions responsible for spreading the regime’s interpretation of Islam and the ideals of the Islamic Revolution.

Some institutions also focus on exporting that ideology abroad. «There is a university dedicated to converting Sunnis to Shiism,» he said. «They bring people from Africa and South America to Iran, convert them to Shiism and send them back to export the Shiite Islamic revolution.»

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A Persian-language edition of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf.

Indoctrination in schools

Schools play a central role in the regime’s ideological system.

«Schools are heavily indoctrinated,» Sabti said. «In civil studies books, Islam was promoted as superior to all other ideologies.»

Religious messaging appears across the curriculum. «You cannot separate any school subject from Islam,» Sabti said. «Not history, not geography. Everything is mixed with ideology. The only thing missing was adding it to mathematics.»

For Sabti, the Mein Kampf episode symbolized the ideological environment students were exposed to. The message, he said, reinforced hostility toward perceived enemies and embedded a political worldview from an early age.

Ideology and hypocrisy

Sabti says the credibility of the system is also undermined by the behavior of Iran’s own elites. «You can see it in the second generation,» he said. «Their children live abroad while the elites live in palaces in Iran and in other countries. It is hypocrisy.»

Zand says ideology has always been reinforced by intimidation. «They make examples out of people in the most vicious possible way,» she said. «It’s fear and manipulation.»

According to Zand, that atmosphere of fear shapes daily life for many Iranians. «Everybody is afraid of the police,» she said. «Everybody is afraid of their neighbors.»

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School children sit together in a classroom while mask-clad and distanced apart from each other, with Iranian national flags on the desk of each, on the first day of school’s re-opening, at Nojavanan school in the capital Tehran on Sept. 5, 2020.  (Photo by Atta Kenare / AFP / Getty)

An ideology losing its grip

Despite the regime’s extensive ideological machinery, Sabti believes many Iranians never fully accepted the worldview the government tried to impose.

«Over the years, the indoctrination has stopped working,» he said. «Most of the public does not truly believe it.»

Still, the Islamic Republic remains in power. «The regime maintains control through money, weapons and propaganda,» Sabti said.

Zand agrees the system never fully reshaped Iranian society. Many people, she said, complied outwardly simply to avoid punishment.

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Iranian school girls wearing angel wings hold flags and portraits of Iran’s supreme leaders, past and present, as officials and security forces mark the 37th anniversary of the day in 1979 that the father of Iran’s Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, returned from exile in France, at the shrine built to house his remains on Feb. 1, 2016 south of Tehran, Iran.  (Scott Peterson/Getty Images)

«They won’t have a problem to transfer as long as they realize that the new Iran has no room for the violence and the horrifying characteristics of the Islamist regime,» Zand told Fox News Digital.

She said that beneath the surface, Iran’s cultural identity remained intact even after decades of pressure from the state.

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Kristi Noem will reportedly join President Donald Trump and 12 Latin American leaders at his resort in Florida for a «Shield of the Americas» summit Saturday after her ouster as the Secretary of Homeland Security and appointment by President Donald Trump to be special envoy for the new coalition of nations. 

On Thursday, Trump announced Noem would be exiting her role as Homeland Security secretary and would be appointed a Special Envoy for the «Shield of the Americas,» a summit for which will be held at the president’s resort in Doral, Florida, on Saturday. The new coalition of 13 countries has been formed to advance strategies that will tackle mass illegal immigration, narco-terrorist gangs and cartels. 

«After years of neglect, President Trump established the ‘Donroe Doctrine’ to restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere. His efforts have been a tremendous success – our southern border is secure, Latin American countries are working with us to defeat the cartels, and illegitimate dictator Nicolas Maduro is facing justice for his crimes in the Southern District of New York – ushering in historic economic cooperation with Venezuela,» said White House spokesperson Anna Kelly ahead of the summit. 

«The President has successfully strengthened our relationships in our own backyard to make the entire region safer and more stable, and this weekend’s ‘Shield of the Americas’ Summit will encapsulate all of his work to Make America, and our partners, Strong Again,» she continued.

Members of Trump’s Cabinet, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, will also be at the Saturday summit. 

The leaders from other nations who will be present are Argentina’s Javier Milei, El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele Ortez, Bolivia’s Rodrigo Paz Pereira, Costa Rica’s Rodrigo Chaves Robles, Panama’s José Raúl Mulino Quintero, and Trinidad and Tobago’s Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Chile’s Jose Antonio Kast, the Dominican Republic’s Luis Rodolfo Abinader Corona, Ecuador’s Daniel Roy Gilchrist Noboa Azín, Guyana’s Mohamed Irfaan Ali, Honduras’ Nasry «Tito» Asfura, and Paraguay’s Santiago Peña.

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s president, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 14, 2025 (Al Drago for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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Noem confirmed Friday, speaking from Nashville, that she will be at the summit, according to the Associated Press. Noem reportedly added that the president will announce «a big agreement» detailing «how we’re going to go after cartels and drug trafficking in the entire Western Hemisphere.» 

On Friday, Hegseth led a strategic conference in Doral with representatives of 17 different Caribbean, Central American and South American countries throughout the Western Hemisphere. During the conference, they signed a joint security declaration, reaffirming their commitment to peace and sovereignty in the region. According to a source familiar with the plans for the summit, the president plans to celebrate this achievement with attendees.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

«Secretary Noem helped usher in the most secure border in history, deported hundreds of thousands of criminal illegal aliens, and executed record-setting counter-drug operations against cartels. All of this great experience positions Noem well to ensure American preeminence in the entire Western Hemisphere in her new role as Special Envoy to the Shield of the Americas,» White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said. «This historic new security initiative, led by Secretary Noem, will advance cutting-edge strategies to defeat narco-terrorist cartels and stop illegal mass migration to make America and the entire Western Hemisphere safer.»

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On Thursday, Rubio said he looked forward to working with Noem as Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, and echoed the comments from the White House about her experience.

«Kristi has achieved incredible results as Secretary of Homeland Security and will be a tremendous asset in our effort to promote security and prosperity in the Western Hemisphere,» Rubio said on X after Trump named Noem to her new post. 

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El presidente de Irán, Masoud Pezeshkian, afirmó el sábado que su país nunca se rendirá ante Israel y Estados Unidos, en el marco de la segunda semana de la guerra en Medio Oriente.

“Los enemigos de Irán deben llevarse a la tumba su deseo de rendición incondicional del pueblo iraní”, declaró Pezeshkian en un discurso transmitido por la televisión estatal.

El mandatario ofreció disculpas, tanto a título personal como en nombre de Irán, a los países vecinos que fueron objeto de ataques iraníes.

“El consejo de liderazgo interino acordó ayer que no se realizarán más ataques contra países vecinos ni se dispararán misiles a menos que un ataque contra Irán provenga de esos países”, anunció Pezeshkian.

El presidente estadounidense Donald Trump descartó el viernes cualquier conversación con Irán mientras no se produzca su “rendición incondicional”. “No habrá ningún acuerdo con Irán salvo la rendición incondicional!”, escribió en su plataforma Truth Social.

Pezeshkian, ha anunciado este sábado la suspensión de bombardeos contra objetivos en los países vecinos de la región y ha presentado sus disculpas por una estrategia que ha atribuido a una medida militar de fuerza mayor ante la muerte de la cúpula de seguridad en los ataques de la semana pasada de EEUU e Israel, pero ha matizado que su país se reserva el derecho a contraatacar si vuelve a ser objetivo de ataques desde estos lugares.

“El Consejo de Liderazgo en funciones aprobó ayer (por el viernes) que no se realizarán más ataques contra países vecinos ni se dispararán misiles a menos que un ataque contra Irán se origine en esos países”, ha anunciado Pezeshkian en un discurso televisado a la nación, en referencia al órgano ejecutivo provisional establecido tras la muerte del ayatolá Alí Khamenei en el ataque conjunto de la semana pasada de EEUU e Israel sobre Teherán.

El presidente iraní ha llegado incluso a pedir disculpas a los vecinos regionales e insistido en que su país no guarda ningún tipo de animadversión hacia ellos, en línea con la postura oficial del régimen iraní, que desde un primer momento ha esgrimido que sus bombardeos iban dirigidos contra posiciones militares, bien de EEUU o de los aliados regionales de Washington.

“Nuestras fuerzas armadas son intrépidas y han arriesgado sus vidas para defender la integridad territorial del país. En ausencia de los comandantes, tomaron las medidas necesarias para defender nuestra tierra con dignidad y fuerza”, ha argumentado.

Aunque Pezeshkian asegura que la decisión se tomó el viernes, países como Arabia Saudí han denunciado intercepciones de al menos cuatro drones y un misil procedentes de Irán, en el marco de las medidas de represalia puestas en marcha por Teherán en respuesta a la ofensiva lanzada el sábado de la semana pasada por Washington y Tel Aviv.

También el Gobierno de Emiratos Árabes Unidos ha confirmado esta madrugada la “contención con éxito” de un “un incidente menor provocado por la caída de escombros tras una interceptación”, sin heridos que lamentar.

El presidente iraní ha aprovechado para declarar que la rendición incondicional exigida el viernes por el presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, no va a suceder jamás.

“La rendición incondicional de Irán es un sueño que se llevará a la tumba”, ha avisado Pezeshkian antes de rematar su discurso con un llamamiento a una solución diplomática. “No tenemos intención de invadir países vecinos; como dijimos, son nuestros hermanos y nos esforzamos por unirnos a ellos para establecer la paz y la tranquilidad”, ha indicado.

(Con información de Europa Press)