On July 9, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard conducted its Great Prophet III military exercises, consisting of war games and a series of missile test launches. The next day, numerous Western newspapers featured a dramatic photograph of 4 rockets being salvo-fired. The test was provocative enough to provoke a reaction from numerous governments as well as both U.S. presidential candidates. It was not long, however, before it was discovered that the image had been digitally altered to conceal the failed launch of a fourth missile, which remained on its transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) as the other 3 took flight. Thus, the narrative shifted from Iran’s provocative and dramatic missile test to Iran’s laughable incompetence. Several commentators argued that this episode undermined the perceived nuclear threat from Iran. A closer examination of the exercises reveals a more complicated truth.
Visions of Empire 