Anti-American murals mocking Trump increase in Tehran, Iran... Fast production using AI

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lim Hwa-seop = In recent months, anti-American propaganda murals painted with material that appears to mock U.S. President Donald Trump have been increasingly spotted on the streets of Tehran, the capital of Iran.

On the 4th (local time), AFP reported on Kanye Tarahan, one of the studios that produces these billboards, and reported on the atmosphere of the office and the production team's explanation.

Mostafa Kapaei (32), who runs this studio, which means 'house of designers,' said, "When news breaks, the production team moves. We come up with ideas, explain the work to graphic designers, and collaborate together."

There were several desks in the office, and employees were working on different tasks.

There was a whiteboard for ideation, and pictures of martyrs and work plans were hung on the hallway walls.

Kappaei's studio has a dedicated media monitoring team and operates under one of Iran's largest state-owned media conglomerates.

Large billboards are used by the Iranian government as a means of widely disseminating messages.

Among the paintings created by Kaneye Tarahan and hung in the crowded Baliasr Square, there is one recently mocking Trump regarding the Strait of Hormuz.

The painting depicts a gigantic image of the Strait of Hormuz sewing shut Trump's mouth. The billboard also had the phrase “At the breaking point” written on it.

In cases where production is urgent, Kappa A may have a team of up to eight people complete the poster in just a few days. “Speed ​​has become a top priority,” he said.

He explained that most of the work is done in Photoshop, adding that the team's ability to use artificial intelligence (AI) is very good and that "several AI engines such as ChatGPT and NanoBanana" are used during the production process.

One billboard produced by another studio showed Trump trapped in a magic box, holding a Coca-Cola and a hamburger.

Along with this, the phrase “Disappears in the blink of an eye!” is written on it.

This painting satirizes the incident in which Trump was secretly transferred to another aircraft via a food delivery truck after the NATO summit held in Turkye in July of this year.

There is also a mural parodying the famous 'Nevermind' album cover of the rock band 'Nirvana'.

It included an image of Trump trying to catch a dollar bill underwater and the words, "Great victory! Strait of Hormuz."

There is also a painting showing an Iranian soldier stepping on an American unmanned submarine, a warrior standing in rough seas and a burning American warship in the background with the phrase "Satan's army will drown in the Persian Gulf."

Large billboards praising former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an airstrike on the first day of the war, and former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who died in 2024, were also put up throughout the city.

Asked why Trump often appears on these billboards, Kapaei said it's because Trump is a "media personality" and "whenever he acts in that area, we respond in kind."

Kapaei likened Trump's media propaganda campaign to a battlefield situation where "fire is constantly coming at us," and explained, "We watch the opponent closely and respond accordingly."

He said the billboards help many people who aren't particularly interested in politics understand "the overall context of what's going on in the country."