Images circulating on social media appear to show posters bearing Adolf Hitler's image and a quote attributed to him displayed in several Iranian cities, as the Islamic Republic intensifies its wartime crackdown on alleged foreign spies and internal collaborators.
The posters, shared in posts claiming they were photographed in cities such as Babolsar and Kermanshah, carried a message aimed at Iranians accused of siding with foreign enemies.
“The worst human beings are those who cooperated with me in the occupation of their country by a foreigner,” the Persian-language poster said in a quote attributed to Hitler. It continued, “Anyone who is happy about the occupation of his country is like someone who is happy about the violation of his mother.”
Social media users who shared the images said the quote was fabricated and condemned the use of Hitler’s image in public messaging. In one of the images circulating online, the Hitler poster appeared directly beneath a much larger public poster of Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader.
"The Iranian regime displays side by side, Mojtaba Khamenei…and Hitler in several cities in the North. Yes, Hitler," one post on social media stated. "6 million Jews exterminated. Erected as a symbol of resistance. This regime is not only seeking to fight Israel, it nurtures and assumes a deeply antisemitic worldview. Hatred of Jews is at the heart of their ideology."
The Jerusalem Post could not independently verify who produced or installed the Hitler posters.
Hitler posters in Iran spark backlash amid crackdown
However, the messaging does fit the atmosphere inside Iran as the regime has become increasingly focused during the war against Israel and the US on rooting out what it describes as foreign spies and collaborators.
In recent months, Iranian authorities have announced hundreds of arrests tied to alleged cooperation with Israel, the United States, or foreign-based opposition outlets.
Reuters reported on March 19 that Iran’s intelligence ministry had arrested 97 people accused of being “soldiers of Israel,” while officials in Alborz province separately announced the detention of 41 people accused of sending videos to opposition media abroad.
On March 15, Iran’s police chief said authorities had arrested 500 people accused of sharing information with enemy states, including people alleged to have passed on targeting information or footage of strike locations.
Two days later, Iranian media reported the arrest of 10 foreign nationals and dozens of others accused of gathering intelligence or acting as “mercenaries” for Israel and the US.
On Tuesday, Reuters reported that Iranian authorities had arrested 466 more people over online activity they said undermined national security, in one of the broadest sweeps since the war began.
The anti-spy campaign has also been accompanied by executions.
On January 7, Iran executed Ali Ardestani, with the judiciary saying he had been convicted of “espionage in favour of the Mossad intelligence service” by providing sensitive information, including images and videos of strategic sites.
Later that month, on January 28, Iran executed Hamidreza Sabet Esmaeilipour, whom the judiciary said had engaged in “espionage and intelligence cooperation” in favor of Mossad through the transfer of “classified documents and information.”
In December 2025, Iran executed Aghil Keshavarz, whom state media accused of spying for Israel. Human rights groups said Keshavarz was a 27-year-old architecture student and alleged that his conviction relied on confessions obtained under torture.
And in September 2025, Iranian authorities announced the execution of Bahman Choubi-asl, described by the judiciary as “one of the most important spies” for Israel inside the country. He was accused of seeking access to Iranian government databases and data centers, part of a broader surge in executions linked to alleged Israeli espionage.
The posters’ appearances come as Iranian authorities continue to frame domestic dissent and alleged cooperation with Israel as part of the same internal-security threat.
