Iran's delayed retaliation against Israel becomes subject of dark humor

Iran's delayed retaliation to the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month has seen the government become the center of dark humor while the psychological warfare plays out.

Iranian government supporters have attributed the wait to Iran's attempt at psychological warfare while others have suggested it is a means to determine the most effective form of response.

But while the fear and anxiety across the Middle East is not something to be taken lightly, Israelis and Iranians have eased some of their tensions with memes and jokes on social media.

Simcha Brodsky, a host for Open Source Intel, mocked the mixed messaging on the exact timing of the 'imminent' attack. He wrote on X, "Iran will attack in 24 hours...Iran will attack at 10 PM on Monday...Iran won't attack, but Hezbollah will.'

Lebanese-Israeli activist Jonathan Elkhoury, who fled Southern Lebanon 20 years ago as a child because of the persecution of Christians under Hezbollah, posted a video to Instagram after an X account reportedly linked to Iran posted an hourglass with the caption "2:00."

Many social media users were left perplexed by the meaning of "2:00." Elkhoury jokingly asked if that was AM or PM and which time zone was meant by the tweet.

Some Iranian social media users responded that it's 2am Iran time because that's the only time to "beat Tehran traffic."

Holly Dagres, a non-resident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council, said dark humor is a way for people in the Middle East to work through adversity.

"For Westerners, gallows humor doesn’t often translate and can often be seen as not politically correct because how can someone laugh at a matter that has serious implications, including war," she said.

"But for Middle Easterners who have experienced so much turmoil through wars, coups, and revolutions, it’s a way to keep themselves sane in a time of fear and uncertainty."

Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian-Israeli lecturer and author joked that "Iranians are always fashionably late", referring to the time now passing since the brazen assassination on July 31.

Another reason, he wrote, was that the country's leaders "prefer to go holidaying and partying in Dubai and Antalya".

However, Iran's inaugural direct attack on Israel which followed an alleged Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus in April, happened thirteen days after the event which killed two senior IRGC commanders and several other senior figures.

Jonathan Harounoff, an Israel-Iran expert and author of the upcoming book 'Unveiled: Inside Iran's #WomanLifeFreedom Revolt', said that jokes aside, the threats from Tehran are being taken seriously.

"Israel -- and the Iranian people -- know all too well by now that the gerontocratic elite in Tehran favor a foreign policy centered on Israel's demise far more than focusing on the country's socio-economic woes," he said.

This week, Iran branded warnings from France, Britain, and Germany against attacking Israel as "illogical and excessive," asserting that it “doesn't need permission to retaliate" for the killing of the Hamas political chief in Tehran.

On Monday, John Kirby, the White House national security spokesman, told reporters “[the attack] could happen as soon as this week".

The assassination in Tehran, which Israel has not claimed responsibility for, has since led to the arrest of dozens in Iran as questions are raised as to how the security breach allowed the killing in the bedroom Haniyeh and his bodyguard were sleeping in.