JRSSEM 2021, Vol. 02, No. 4, 569 – 587
E-ISSN: 2807 - 6311, P-ISSN: 2807 - 6494
DOI: 10.36418/jrssem.v2i04.329 https://jrssem.publikasiindonesia.id/index.php/jrssem
COVID 19 RESPONSE: PRESIDENT ROUHANI AND
PRESIDENT RAISI'S POLICY NARRATIVE IN IRAN
THROUGH THE MEDIA
Joevi Roedyati
1
Rino Febrianno Boer
2
Nizvi Varra Azqiya
3
1,2
Dosen PGP, Indonesia
3
Mahasiswi PGP, Indonesia
*
e-mail: joeviroedyati@gmail.com, rinofebriannoboer@gmail.com, nizvivarraazqiya@gmail.com
*Correspondence: joeviroedya[email protected]
Submitted
: 11
th
November 2022
Revised
: 21
th
November 2022
Accepted
: 28
th
November 2022
Abstract: In the midst of political and economic sanctions obtained from the United States, Iran
had to fight the Covid-19 pandemic which has killed thousands of people in Iran, placing Iran in a
chaotic situation due to the initial handling that did not go well. Now President Raisi is taking over
the Iranian crisis by issuing new policies related to handling Covid-19 and improving the situation
and conditions of people who have lost their trust in the Iranian Government. This research wants
to examine the narratives launched by the Government of Iran through the media regarding the
policy of dealing with Covid-19. By using the discourse analysis method, this study tries to explore
the contents of the narrative and explore what discourse the Iranian government wants to convey
to the public.
Keywords: Narrative, Media, Government Policy, Discourse Analysis.
Joevi Roedyati
1
Rino Febrianno Boer
2
Nizvi Varra Azqiya
3
| 570
DOI: 10.36418/jrssem.v2i04.329 https://jrssem.publikasiindonesia.id/index.php/jrssem
INTRODUCTION
Iran is one of the few countries in the
world that has been directly part of the
history of world civilization, namely the
Persian empire. The Iranian mainland area
that was once called the 'land of the Aryans'
became the history of the Achaemenid
Kingdom whose territory stretched from
Libya, Pakistan to India before it was finally
conquered by Alexander The great in 1311.
The history of Iran was then marked by the
rapid change of government in power until
finally the establishment of the Safavid
Kingdom which adhered to Shia beliefs and
since then Iran has become the largest
country in the world to embrace Shia
understanding. The relationship between
clerics and rulers did not always go as well
as it can currently be seen. Even between
1892 and 1905 even the Ulema had a good
place in government circles, but the clergy
did not play a significant role. Until finally
the Ulama formed a coalition with
merchants and liberal groups who then
succeeded in forming a constitution that
was officially in force until 1979.
Iran after 1979 officially became the
Islamic Republic of Iran after the end of a
long history of uprisings by Iranian people
from various groups - social groups led by
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Shia
Islamic leader in Iran. The uprising
succeeded in overthrowing the
monarchical regime of Muhammad Reza
Shah Pahlevi.
However, the commotion did not stop
only after the revolution. Currently, the
world is again shaken by the emergence of
coronavirus disease at the end of 2019, or
known as Covid-19. The virus, which was
first reported to have appeared in Wuhan,
China, spread and mutated very quickly
throughout the world until it was officially
declared a global pandemic by the World
Health Organization on March 11, 2020
(Time, 2020).
Iran, of course, has not escaped the
spread of the Covid-19 virus. Even Iran and
several countries in the Middle East and
North Africa region are experiencing so-
called religious misinformation which
makes handling Covid-19 even more
difficult (Alimardani & Elswah, 2020). In his
article it is stated that under the regime of
government that relatively exercises strict
control over the flow of information as well
as the existence of a deficit of trust from the
public towards the government and rulers
causes the dissemination of information
aimed at the recovery of the situation to be
unbelievable and ineffective. This kind of
condition that occurs in these countries is
referred to as an 'infodemic' phenomenon
to describe the complexity of the problems
faced by the location which is likely to be
different from the situation in other
countries. The assumption of "controlled
information flow" by the government can
have a strong influence to trigger public
trust in the government, which is precisely
an anomaly. At the beginning of the
COVID-19 pandemic (February-May 2020)
the opposite happened. There is a lot of
miscommunication about the pandemic
among the public due to the contradiction
of information posted on social media
related to the vaccination process. Some of
571 | Covid 19 Response: President Rouhani and President Raisi's Policy Narrative In Iran
Through The Media
the issues that stand out are the halal
versus illegitimate view of vaccines, the
impact on male masculinity, and the impact
of other vaccinations being "engineered" or
"hoaxes.
This religious misinformation builds a
tense atmosphere in society, makes citizens
emotional and decreases the ability of
religious institutions to change things for
the better through the message conveyed.
Specifically what is happening in Iran is a
dichotomy between the (power of) prayer
to God and the medical measures that must
be taken by citizens affected by the Covid-
19 virus. Clearly, BBC Persia in 2020
mentioned that Iran's Ministry of Health
failed to reduce the spread and death of
citizens due to Covid and even became the
target of criticism from Iranian government
officials themselves (Alimardani & Elswah,
2020). This was done by Iranian
parliamentary official Ayatollah
Mohammad Mehdi Mirbaqeri who
questioned the intent and objectives of the
lockdown and social distancing policies set
by the ministry. As a result, the criticism
delivered through social media has gone
viral and further undermined the authority
of religious symbols in the country of the
mullahs, especially when clashed with
medical science which in some ways seems
to be the opposite.
The unique characteristics in handling
the spread of the Covid-19 virus that
occurred in Iran are not only in the
relationship between the ruler and the
people, but the country of 80 million
people is currently still a country that has
received political and economic sanctions
from the United States. This has led to the
Iranian government's limitation to provide
basic medical equipment, especially for the
purposes of diagnosis, action and
prevention of the spread of Covid-19
(Abdoli, n.d.). It is also uncertain that the
imposition of these sanctions has caused
Iran to become the country with the most
deaths from Covid-19? Especially in the
Eastern Mediterranean region which
includes 22 regions of countries such as
Cyprus, Turkey, Jordan, Palestine, Israel to
Egypt. At the beginning of the period when
the Covid-19 virus hit many countries in the
world, WHO noted that Iran itself had
experienced 3 waves of Covid-19 spread
only in 2020, starting from March 2020, the
second wave occurred near the beginning
of May 2020 and the third wave occurred in
September 2020.
However, if you look at Figure 1.1.
below it seems as if it appears that the
pattern of active cases since the end of
2020 has repeated itself until it reaches its
peak in October 2021. This temporary
picture impresses the powerlessness of the
Iranian government in controlling the
spread of the Covid-19 virus throughout
the territory of Iran.
Joevi Roedyati
1
Rino Febrianno Boer
2
Nizvi Varra Azqiya
3
| 572
DOI: 10.36418/jrssem.v2i04.329 https://jrssem.publikasiindonesia.id/index.php/jrssem
Source : www.worlddometers.info, data taken April 21, 2022
On the other hand it is visible from
Figure 1.2. that there is a pattern of
repetition of the number of active cases of
people affected by Covid-19 in the Iranian
region. The data shows a trend of
increasing the number of deaths of people
due to getting Covid-19. The latest data as
of March 24, 2022, although the death rate
has begun to decline, the increase in the
number of deaths is still increasing. From
these two images, it can be concluded that
the sanctions received by Iran do not
directly make the Iranian government
powerless to deal with the spread of Covid-
19, but these sanctions must be recognized
as limiting the government's ability to
provide high-tech testing and specific
equipment needed by hospitals to treat
patients affected by Covid-19 (Abdoli, n.d.)
573 | Covid 19 Response: President Rouhani and President Raisi's Policy Narrative In Iran
Through The Media
Source : www.worlddometers.info, data taken April 21, 2022
Since the Iranian government
confirmed the entry of Covid-19 on
February 18, 2020, a series of policies have
been carried out. Some of the
government's policies include locking
down all 31 provinces in Iran, setting
investment priorities in the health sector
compared to military purposes, purchasing
weapons and other war equipment,
providing subsidies to all citizens who run
medium and small businesses through the
provision of low interest rates, paying
special attention to health care for the
elderly and vulnerable groups, as well as
involving all institutions from both
government and non-government sectors
are actively involved in handling and
controlling the spread of the Covid-19 virus
throughout the country (Yoosefi Lebni et
al., 2021).
Nevertheless, the increasing number of
infected people is also increasing. As of July
3, 2021, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
even mentioned that Iran will enter the fifth
wave of Covid-19 spread when the Delta
variant of the virus enters Iranian territory.
The number of deaths, which reached
84,000 people and 3.2 million people
infected with Covid-19, will continue to
grow amid the difficulty of obtaining
additional Covid-19 vaccines from the
international community due to the still in
force of sanctions from the United States.
As a result, the number of people who have
received two doses of the vaccine is still at
1.7 million people and only 4.4, million
Iranians have received the first vaccine.
Therefore, the Iranian government must
immediately increase the capacity of local
vaccines so that the number of people
vaccinated can immediately increase (Has,
Author 1, Author 2, Author … and Author …. 574
2021).
The Iranian government is working
hard to address this issue. Since this Covid-
19 case was discovered, a number of
policies in the form of closing the tomb of
saints and even closing mosques have been
carried out since the beginning. This was
then followed by social distancing and the
obligation to quarantine at home for all
residents. Even in the celebration of Iran's
new year anniversary, "Nowruz", all
culturally common forms of celebrations
such as family visits, and celebratory
gatherings, have been banned (Ahmadi &
Ramezani, 2020). Research conducted by
Ahmadi and Ramezane (2020) found a
number of interesting facts. The Iranian
people throughout the Covid-19 pandemic
have experienced at least 2 things , namely:
1. Inner conflict: residents want the
opening of places of worship and
tombs of saints which in the midst of
this pandemic condition is closed,
resulting in conflicts between
residents who force their way in and
the officials who guard these places.
2. Disruption of relationships within the
family; The habit of visiting each
other between families that is
prohibited and people are asked to
stay at home eventually causes new
conflicts that occur between family
members.
In Iranian culture, burial ceremonies
and expressions of grief experienced by
families whose relatives died are part of
religious ritual ceremonies. The prohibition
of activities like this, causes sadness,
psychological effects and even deep
depression, especially for the family. The
complicated condition faced by Iran is that
on the one hand the government has tried
hard to carry out policies to deal with
Covid-19 which even dares to carry out
unpopular policies such as banning
activities in mosques, but citizens still show
distrust of the government.
The President of Iran, Hassan Rouhani,
in early February 2021 even delivered a
message to citizens himself upon the first
arrival of the vaccine from Russia, Sputnik V.
The President conveyed the need for the
Iranian people to strictly carry out all advice
from doctors to protect themselves from
being infected with Covid-19 considering
that the vaccine process will continue until
next year (Syed Zafar Mehdi, 2021). Not
quite there, the supreme leader of Iran's
Revolutionary Guard (IGRC), Brigadier
General Mohamad Pakpour, is ready to
assist and mobilize military forces to
promote vaccinations throughout Iran. This
was conveyed as a welcome at the request
of Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the
Iranian revolution, who asked all
components of the nation to participate in
efforts to control Covid-19. Khameini also
expressed gratitude to President Raisi for
setting a one-week deadline to complete
all of this ("IRGC Ready to Assist in COVID
Vaccination Program in Iran: Commander,"
2021). All components of government
ranging from the highest to the lowest total
intervened to overcome the impact of the
spread of Covid 19 and speak directly to the
public at every opportunity through various
media. However, the spread of Covid 19
575 | Covid 19 Response: President Rouhani and President Raisi's Policy Narrative In Iran
Through The Media
continues to increase and the death rate
also continues to grow.
Based on the description of the
problem above, this research was
conducted based on the following problem
formulation :
1. What is the message narrative
about the Covid 19 control policy
built by the Iranian government
through the media?
2. Is there a difference in building a
narrative message about Covid 19
control policies in both eras of
government?
3. What is the discourse that has
emerged from citizens toward the
message narrative built by the
Iranian government to control
Covid-19?
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This research method uses qualitative
research which uses the discourse analysis
method. Qualitative research aims to dig
deeper into a reality (Kriyantono, 2020, p.
51) that is in a discourse whose results will
be presented in explanatory form. Paltridge
(2012) says that discourse analysis is used
to consider the use of language that shows
a different view and understanding of a
concept. This method was first introduced
by Zellig Harris (1952) as a way to analyze a
relationship between oral and written
discourse, which is used to study how
sentences in oral or written texts can
together create meaning and be
interconnected so as to create a meaning
(Paltridge, 2012, p. 2).
According to the discourse theory
presented by (Kriyantono, 2020) the object
of discourse chosen for analysis must
contain a motive, idea, message, and
mindset towards something that wants to
be conveyed and disseminated to the
public. There are various forms of discourse
objects in discourse theory, such as
speeches, news, articles, radio plays, online
media, or websites.
Discourse analysis in this study will be
carried out by interpreting and interpreting
the object of discourse that has been
chosen to examine the meaning contained
in depth, because the researcher does not
want to only reveal the meaning of the
discourse that is common and open, but is
also expected to achieve the hidden
meaning of the discourse or the implied
meaning. The use of qualitative methods in
research that views a reality from the
researcher's side, then this discourse
analysis is inseparable from the impression
of the researcher's subjectivity. To minimize
this impression, this research will be
accompanied by the results of an analysis
of other contexts of the discourse being
tested.
The object of discourse that will be
analyzed in this study is a narrative about
the policies of the current Iranian
Government, during the leadership of
Presidents Raisi and Rouhani, which
circulated in Iran through the media. The
narrative to be analyzed is one that is read
and consumed by the Iranian people. The
period for selecting messages in the media
Author 1, Author 2, Author … and Author …. 576
to be analyzed will be determined after
getting a clearer picture of the crucial
period faced by the Iranian government.
Then the second discourse to be analyzed
will be obtained through informants who
read and know the content of the
previously analyzed narrative. The
informants selected for the study consisted
of Iranian government employees and the
Iranian public. The analysis is carried out to
find out what narrative the Iranian
Government wants to convey to its people
as well as what discourse arises from the
narrative spread by the Government.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Based on the research that has been
carried out on the narrative of discourse on
the policies of the Iranian government
during the leadership of President Raisi and
President Rouhani related to the pandemic
and the Covid-19 vaccine, the following
results were obtained:
Table 1. President Raisi's Policy in the Media
Question
Result
Clear - Unclear
50% Clear
30% Unclear
20% Neutral
For Iranian society - For specific groups
50% For Iranian society
20% For certain groups
30% Neutral
For the Iranian people - For other countries
40% For Iranian society
30% For other countries
30% Neutral
For Iranian society - For the governing elite
30% For Iranian society
50% For the governing elite
20% Neutral
For the Iranian people - For the military
30% For Iranian society
30% for military
20% Neutral
20% Blank
Transparent - Non-transparent
30% Transparent
50% Non-transparent
20% Neutral
577 | Covid 19 Response: President Rouhani and President Raisi's Policy Narrative In Iran
Through The Media
Table 2. President Rouhani's Policies in the Media
Question
Result
Clear - Unclear
50% Clear
40% Unclear
10% Neutral
For Iranian society - For specific groups
50% For Iranian society
40% For specific groups
10% Neutral
For the Iranian people - For other
countries
40% For Iranian society
40% For other countries
20% Neutral
For Iranian society - For the governing
elite
50% For Iranian society
30% For the governing elite
20% Neutral
For the Iranian people - For the military
60% For Iranian society
30% for military
10% Blank
Transparent - Non-transparent
50% Transparent
40% Non-transparent
10% Neutral
Analysis: based on the data
obtained through the distribution of
questionnaires to 10 respondents in Iran, it
can be concluded that:
1. The aspects of clarity of
government action and
transparency are perceived
differently and contradistinctly
between these two presidents,
namely for clarity in the media Raisi
is perceived better, but for
transparency, Rouhani, who is
favored, is more transparent in
reporting.
2. In terms of partiality to the
people in the attitudes and actions
taken by the government, President
Rouhani is favored while President
Raisi is considered to prioritize or
put the governing elite first.
In this section, the perception of the
actions of the two Iranian presidents in
controlling the spread of Covid 19 in Iran is
indeed perceived differently. At least this
assumption arises from a group of Iranians
who are willing to be respondents in this
study. So, based on the table above,
President Raisi and President Rouhani are
relatively equally superior in the element of
inclination to Iranian society over other
countries or certain groups. Meanwhile, in
other elements, the majority of
respondents stated that President
Rouhani's policies favored the Iranian
Author 1, Author 2, Author … and Author …. 578
people more than government and military
elites, and the transparency of his policies
was also clearer than that of Iran's new
President, namely President Raisi.
Table 3. Covid-19 and Vaksin
Question
How did you first learn the news of Covid-
19 in Iran?
How did you first find out about the
Covid-19 vaccine in Iran?
How was your first vaccine?
Choose one of these news stories that has
caught your attention the most about the
Covid-19 virus?
What do you think, is the Covid-19
vaccination halal?
What do you think about the Covid-19
vaccination process in your country?
Based on the data above, the analysis
is carried out on 2 important parts , namely:
1. Citizens' Response To The Government
Regarding Covid 19 Control And
Vaccine Administration
The Covid-19 and vaccine table above
attempts to find out about how
respondents get access to Covid-19
information and vaccines available to the
Iranian public. From the table above, it is
known that 40% of respondents get
information about the development of
covid-19 through the internet, while
information related to vaccines 40% of
respondents get it from announcements
broadcast by the Iranian Government. In
relation to the previous element, from the
results of the study, 50% of respondents
were more interested in Covid-19
information from friends or relatives. In this
section, it can be said that the government
tends to make more vigorous efforts
579 | Covid 19 Response: President Rouhani and President Raisi's Policy Narrative In Iran
Through The Media
regarding vaccines through public
communication of officials directly or
through the mass media than reporting on
the development of Covid-19 itself. It
seems to be a big concern for the
government if the vaccine is not widely
carried out amid the increasing spread of
Covid 19 at that time. However, the data
seems to contradict the opinion of Mr.
Herry Purwanto, staff of the Indonesian
Embassy in Iran, through interviews
conducted by researchers. Mr. Herry said
that the Iranian Government has actually
also set the handling of Covid-19 as the top
work priority by providing information
related to the development and handling of
Covid-19 through electronic, print and
online media widely.
This was also confirmed by informant
Mrs. Sarayanti who continues to follow the
development of the Covid-19 pandemic in
addition to online, print, electronic and
social media, as well as through the
Salamat platform, a website portal
provided directly by the Iranian Ministry of
Health specifically for the Covid-19
pandemic. From the platform, Informant
Sarayanti argued that the Iranian
Government has been quite good in
realizing the importance of broadcasting
information about the Covid-19 pandemic,
as done by WHO, and has been active in
sharing it with the Iranian people.
In addition, based on the presentation
from Mrs. Sarayanti, other efforts from the
Iranian Government were also found in
controlling the Covid-19 pandemic. Not
only through television that is used
optimally, the Government also provides
alternative assistance services and
information in the form of telephone
numbers that can be contacted, for
information and assistance with the
availability of drugs, doctor call services or
PCR tests that can come to the house.
There is a difference in perception
about which is the priority of the Iranian
government, namely between controlling
covid 19 or administering vaccines in the
policies carried out. This can be expected to
happen because the two informants are
Indonesian citizens in Iranian Tehran who
are concerned about the Iranian
government's efforts to overcome the
pandemic, while the focus of Iranians
themselves is in fact prioritizing the
administration of vaccines as an effort that
the government must prioritize. This
happens because Iranians themselves have
to keep traveling and running the wheels of
the family economy so that vaccine
administration becomes more of a priority
in their lives.
2. Citizens' Response To The
Government, Especially Related To
Vaccine Administration
For the Covid-19 vaccination, from the
results of the study, it was found that 70%
of respondents felt that the vaccination
process in Iran had gone well, with 40% of
them getting the first vaccine outside the
facilities of office clinics and city clinics, and
the majority of 70% of respondents
considered that the Covid-19 vaccine was
classified as halal without anyone
mentioning that the vaccine was haram.
This happens because residents think it is
for the good of their own health. It is clear
from the data that residents are quite
satisfied with the government's
performance related to the vaccination
Author 1, Author 2, Author … and Author …. 580
process that is going well.
This is also corroborated by the
opinion of Herry's informant who explained
that most of the public considers that the
Iranian Government and the Iranian Covid-
19 response headquarters have used media
facilities optimally in providing information
about the handling of Covid-19 in Iran and
providing information about adequate
vaccines to maintain public trust.
On the broadcasting side of the Covid-
19 policy and handling from President Raisi
and President Rouhani, Informant Herry
mentioned the differences between the
two, namely (1) In terms of the quality or
content of the narrative of President
Rouhani's administration, it is more focused
on handling and overcoming Covid-19 by
focusing on vaccine assistance from donor
countries and social organizations.
Meanwhile, President Raisi's administration
chose a direct approach by providing
information and inviting vaccinations by
visiting people who are far from the city
center. All covid-19 handling programs
carried out by the Raisi administration are
published directly through existing media
channels and in greater quantity than those
carried out by President Rouhani before.
In addition to the opinions of Herry
Informants, the government's efforts in
providing information related to Covid-19
were also presented by Mrs. Sarayanti
through an interview conducted. However,
there are different answers from Mr. Herry
and Ms. Sarayanti regarding the differences
in policy broadcasting by President Raisi
and President Rouhani. Informant Ms.
Sarayanti argued that during President
Rouhani's time, she was more aggressive in
disseminating information and procuring
covid-19 development meetings that were
broadcast on television along with a
statement from the Iranian Minister of
Health. Meanwhile, during the President
Raisi's time, these activities gradually
decreased because the Covid-19 pandemic
has tended to be controlled and the public
has been sufficiently educated about what
should be done to avoid exposure to
Covid-19.
In addition, this study also analyzed 12
news stories that discussed the Iranian
Government's policies related to the Covid-
19 pandemic published in online news
portals. The twelve articles discussed
consisted of 7 articles written before the
presidential election was held, namely June
18, 2021, while 5 articles were written
during the new Iranian presidential period.
The analysis focused on the content of the
text related to what message the Iranian
government intends to convey through the
news. Then the analysis was carried out
using the concept of discourse analysis
from Todorov (1969) whose study was
specifically referred to as Narratology.
An analysis using each element of
Narratology from Todorov (1969) can be
seen in detail in the appendix. Basically, the
discussion here will be divided into 2,
namely related to news articles in the era of
President Rouhani and President Raisi
related to news about Covid 19 control
policies and about vaccination which are
findings from research on previous data.
News Of President Rouhani's Government
Policies
Regarding the equilibrium conditions
faced by the Rouhani administration, the
581 | Covid 19 Response: President Rouhani and President Raisi's Policy Narrative In Iran
Through The Media
government often conveys the
government's sincerity in controlling covid
19. Various policies have been issued by the
government such as restrictions on store
opening hours, bans on travel to areas
marked with the Red Zone either on
weekdays or on major celebration days in
Iran as well as the use of masks. However,
the condition of residents exposed to covid
19 continued to fluctuate up and down
until the end of the era of president
Rouhani's administration.
The aspect that 'hampered' the
government's efforts to tackle covid 19 that
was most prominently reported was the
implementation of economic sanctions
imposed by Iran by the US and the UK; The
increase in the number of deaths and
residents exposed to Covid 19 continues to
occur even though the government has
implemented preventive policies; there are
differences of views between Iran's
supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei and
President Rouhani on whether or not to
import vaccines from abroad; Disruption
also occurs due to the celebration of major
days commemorated by citizens by
gathering and traveling together, namely
the Iranian New Year and Eid al-Fitr;
towards the end of the term, President
Rouhani also had to overcome an open
political campaign that invited crowds
during the election period as well as a slow
increase in the number of Iranians who had
already been vaccinated.
The third element of Todorov's (1969)
discourse analysis is related to proving the
existence of disruptions that in this case
were experienced by the Rouhani
administration. The most notable evidence
is that Iran is ranked first in the group of
countries in the Middle East with the
highest number of deaths from Covid 19
and the largest number of people affected
by covid 19. The resignation of a number of
government officials who disagreed on the
most appropriate policies taken by the
government also indicates the existence of
weak management in the Rouhani system
of government. Likewise, the difference in
views on whether or not vaccines from
abroad should enter Iran that Rouhani
confronted Iran's Supreme Leader,
Ayatollah Khamenei, also pointed to
weaknesses in the management of
president Rouhani's administration.
The Rouhani administration is trying to
overcome 2 major problems faced, namely
controlling Covid-19 and massive vaccine
administration efforts. To control covid 19,
the government has taken a number of
policies such as the establishment of travel
bans, the imposition of monetary fines for
violators, restrictions on store opening
hours, including providing direct assistance
to poor people with a commitment to
providing a large government budget. For
vaccination, the Rouhani administration has
made cooperative efforts with Russia and
China and India to obtain ready-to-use
vaccines from these countries; Allow all
vaccines from abroad to enter Iran except
those from the US and the UK; Encouraging
cooperation in making local vaccines with
Cuba, which was initially a slow process, but
was later successfully issued and given to
the community; in addition, Iran also gets
vaccines under the COVAX scheme which is
intended for countries that need vaccine
assistance from the international world to
demonstrate the principle of equality
between countries in the face of the
Author 1, Author 2, Author … and Author …. 582
pandemic.
On the element returning to the
starting point of equilibrium, not much of
the data is written down by the quoted
media. This is likely because the news
focuses on the efforts made by the
government and does not report the
results that have been achieved through
the implementation of the policy.
Based on the foregoing, it can be seen
that referring to the notion of narrative
function from Sharf & Vanderford (2003),
president Rouhani's administration seeks to
get Iranians to make the best decisions for
themselves and their own families. The
decision consists of efforts to avoid
exposure to covid 19 and efforts to get the
vaccine through all elements of information
provided by the government. This narrative
is then referred to as the Narrative of a
Decision Maker. The government is fixated
on one pattern of conveying information so
that the news that appears only emphasizes
the provision of one-way information which
contains prohibitions and restrictions that
require the attitude of submission and
obedience of citizens to the narrative. In the
end, Iranians are directed to determine for
themselves what actions are best to take
and are willing to bear all the consequences
of the choices made.
News of The Policies of The Raisi President-
Era Administration
At the beginning of the Raisi
administration, it seemed that the level of
equilibrium that people expected at the
time was to further highlight the
government's efforts to increase the
number of vaccines given to Iranians. There
is a discourse to open vaccines from
anywhere including vaccines from the
United States. With regard to controlling
covid 19, fears of the entry of the Omicron
variant, which has a high transmission rate,
led the Raisi government to promise to
issue a travel ban for Iranians. Amid rising
covid 19 transmission rates, President Raisi
appeared before the public nearly a year
since he was elected president to claim his
administration's success in controlling
Covid 19. This is something that president
Rouhani has never done during his reign.
The Raisi administration wants to convey a
new balance that is formed when the
number of citizens getting vaccinated has
increased significantly compared to the era
of President Rouhani.
Amid mounting public scrutiny for
the government to speed up the
vaccination process and open up the
possibility of taking vaccines from
anywhere, Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei
reiterated never allowing vaccines from the
U.S. to enter Iran. This raises doubts among
residents about the government's ability to
increase the pace of vaccinations, which is
considered to be going well. A new
disruption is the shortage of dollars in the
country needed to buy vaccines from
abroad. Ayatollah Khamenei took to the
media to call on the government to take
covid 19 more seriously due to the influx of
the Delta variant, which is more rapidly
contagious despite the lower death rate.
Finally, the media wrote that the Raisi
administration had not actually succeeded
in increasing the number of Iranians who
received vaccines officially from the
government and even the Raisi
administration adopted a policy of easing
583 | Covid 19 Response: President Rouhani and President Raisi's Policy Narrative In Iran
Through The Media
travel restrictions so that the government's
claim of success was refuted by itself.
In the news, various evidences are
clearly written in the form of interviews with
citizens who choose to go to the border
with other countries to get vaccines and for
other Iranians, efforts to get vaccines from
abroad with tourist destinations are a
favorite choice for Iranians who are
classified as economically capable. Citizens'
disobedience to health protocols occurred
widely in almost all corners of the country
so that eventually the military would
intervene to bring this in order. Various
forms of residents' rejection of the
provisions of health protocols appear in
various forms, such as the broadcast of
shows on television whose stars do not
wear masks, including violations of store
opening hours. The same thing happened
when school had started and the series of
pilgrimages to the holy tomb were carried
out in disregard for the health protocols set
by the government.
Seeing the existing conditions, Iran's
Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, met
with military commanders and then asked
the military to seriously intervene to bring
order to citizens' compliance with health
protocols. In addition, the cooperation that
has been carried out since the time of
President Rouhani, is still carried out,
namely by bringing vaccines from Russia
and China, especially. While improving
information to the public and reminding
the importance of implementing health
protocols.
Almost the same as the news in the era
of president Rouhani, it is difficult to find
success in the news that makes the
condition gradually return to its original
balance. The only claim of success written
in the media is President Raisi's success in
vaccinating, namely that a total of 153
million vaccines have been given including
30 million booster vaccines that have been
successfully given to Iranians.
Referring to the notion of narrative
function from Sharf & Vanderford (2003),
president Raisi's administration uses
narrative as the dominant form of
understanding. In the explanation, this
form of narrative has 2 characteristics,
namely using stories in the past which are
then conveyed by a familiar person. In this
regard, the Supreme Leader of the Iranian
Revolution, Ayatollah Khamenei himself,
often speaks directly both highlighting the
performance of the government and
directly asking Iranians to follow all policies
to control covid 19 and administer vaccines
made by President Raisi's administration.
When viewed in terms of the content of the
policies made by the new government,
there are actually no new policies taken.
Almost all policies following the policies of
the previous administration include
requesting vaccine assistance from Russia
and China, banning vaccines from the US
and UK, restricting the mobility of citizens,
especially to the Red Zone region etc.
President Rouhani
President Raisi
Focus on the narrative of covid-19 pandemic
Emphasizing the narrative that tells the
Author 1, Author 2, Author … and Author …. 584
control policies, such as restrictions on
community activities and health protocols.
success of the Iranian Government in
controlling the state of the Covid-19
Pandemic
Build a narrative that emphasizes things that
can be done by the community and must be
obeyed by the community.
Elevating the figure of Ayatullah Khomeini, as
a leading figure in Iran, in the narrative of
controlling the Covid-19 pandemic and the
vaccine campaign.
The narrative tends to serve as a decision-
maker that the Iranian people must abide by.
Emphasizing a narrative that serves to
convey understanding and persuade the
Iranian people about what to do.
CONCLUSIONS
Based on the analysis and discussion
above, this study draws the following
conclusions:
First, the narrative of the message
about the Covid 19 control policy built by
the Iranian government through the media
basically concerns 2 major things, namely:
(1) The government's efforts in controlling
Covid 19 and (2) The government's efforts
to increase vaccinations for all Iranian
citizens.
Second, the difference in building a
narrative message about covid 19 control
policies and vaccine administration policies
in the two eras of government in Iran is that
President Rouhani emphasizes more on
narratives that describe the conditions that
Iranians will face in doing certain deeds in
the pandemic era. Meanwhile, the message
narrative that was built about the Covid 19
control policy and the vaccine
administration policy in the era of President
Raisi was to emphasize more on the success
story of handling covid 19 during his
administration to build a suggestion to
Iranians that the newly formed Iranian
government is able to control the situation.
In addition to using success stories,
narratives are also built through the
delivery of stories using characters widely
known by the public, namely Ayatullah
Khomeini himself. Thus the form of
narrative used is different from the previous
era which emphasized the narrative for
decision making while in the era of
President Raisi the narrative that was built
emphasized more on the understanding of
Iranians to the situation at hand so that
finally citizens can accept the policies made
by the government including when asking
the military to intervene in controlling
covid 19 and administering vaccines.
Third, Iranians' view of the narrative
built by the government on controlling
covid 19 and administering vaccines is
reflected in the 40% of information about
covid 19 control through the internet. This
means that the government's
communication space for citizens does not
seem to be running smoothly so that
Iranians can more easily get information
through the internet which is rife with
hoaxes and political interests. Meanwhile,
the 70% figure represents a relatively large
585 | Covid 19 Response: President Rouhani and President Raisi's Policy Narrative In Iran
Through The Media
enough figure to show iranians' satisfaction
with the vaccine administration carried out
in the second term of government.
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