Iranian state-run media marked the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks by promulgating conspiracy theories that accuse the U.S. government of somehow orchestrating the attacks.
Iran’s state-controlled Press TV and Mehr News Agency each published articles claiming that on the 12th anniversary of the attacks that killed close to 3,000, the "American people are questioning the government’s version of the tragic event."
Iranian political leaders and media outlets are notorious for promoting 9/11 conspiracy theories that blame the Bush administration and even the Israelis for carrying out the attack.
These conspiracies are tied to the Iranian regime’s systematic denial of the Holocaust, a position popularized by former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The latest Iranian 9/11 reports focus on a billboard erected in New York City’s Times Square that states, "Rethink 9/11." The billboard was paid for by a 9/11 truther group that goes by the same name
The articles go on to quote an individual claiming to have been a 9/11 first responder.
"Dana Fuchs, one of the volunteers who helped the victims in the aftermath of the attacks, thinks despite its message, the billboard should be allowed," Press TV reported.
Mehr also quotes Fuchs in its article promoting the 9/11 conspiracy theory.
"I guess as a volunteer ground zero for five months, first of all I’m an artist so I believe anybody should be able to put up anything," Fuchs is quoted as saying.
The articles go on to claim that the American people do not believe the U.S. government’s "official account."
"Americans have different opinions about the attacks," Press TV wrote. "New York citizen Joseph Hewitt said he was surprised so few people even know about the billboard He does not accept the official account of the attacks."
The Iranian media outlet then claims, "Hewitt's skepticism about the attacks is increasingly shared by many throughout the United States."
"Twelve years on, distrust of the U.S. government is growing," Press TV wrote.
Iran is notorious for engaging in 9/11 trutherism, regularly claiming that al Qaeda did not actually perpetrate the attack.
Ahmadinejad famously referred to the "mysterious September 11th incident" and the "slave masters and colonial powers" when he addressed the United Nations in 2011.
"By using their imperialistic media network which is under the influence of colonialism, they threaten anyone who questions the Holocaust and the September 11 event with sanctions and military actions," Ahmadinejad said at the time.
His accusation led al Qaeda to dub Ahmadinejad a 9/11 truther.
"The Iranian government has professed on the tongue of its president Ahmadinejad that it does not believe that al Qaeda was behind 9/11 but rather, the U.S. government. So we may ask the question: Why would Iran ascribe to such a ridiculous belief that stands in the face of all logic and evidence?" al Qaeda wrote in a 2011 issue of Inspire, its official magazine.
"The prescribers to these [9/11 conspiracy] theories have been some scattered individuals here and there who do not posses the research capabilities and capacities that are only available to governments. However, there has been one exception: the government of Iran," the article stated.
Iran is jealous of al Qaeda, the article stated.
"If Iran was genuine in its animosity towards the U.S., it would be pleased to see another entity striking a blow at the Great Satan but that’s not the case," the article said.
Iran expert Emanuele Ottolenghi said that the promotion of such discredited conspiracy theories should be seen as a warning sign in the West.
"At a time when Iran’s new president Hassan Rowhani is on a charm offensive to convince Americans of his moderate credentials, the fact that Iranian state TV is actually embracing the most bizarre and preposterous conspiracy theories about 9/11 is a powerful warning against the facile excitement caused by Hassan Rowhani’s spin doctors that we have a credible and worthy interlocutor for negotiation," said Ottolenghi, a Defense of Democracies (FDD) senior fellow.