Introduction: Cognitive warfare, as the sixth dimension of conflict, targets the minds and perceptions of the target society and threatens social capital and national cohesion. In this context, Persian-language transnational media outlets are among the influential actors in the media landscape related to Iran, whose patterns of representation, especially during crises, have the theoretical potential to exert cognitive influence on Persian-speaking audiences. This study aimed to analyze the representation pattern of the Ramadan War through the theoretical framework of cognitive warfare, using the Iran International website as the case study, with emphasis on clarifying the theoretical implications of media defense.

Method: The research used quantitative content analysis. The statistical population included all 851 news items published on the Iran International website between February 27, 2026, and May 23, 2026, examined through a census approach. Data were analyzed using a researcher-developed three-part coding system including 14 textual components aligned with the cognitive warfare literature, 31 media techniques, and 8 cognitive-social themes potentially related to dimensions of social capital.

Findings: The examined news corpus showed a relatively coherent and multilayered pattern in the co-occurrence of textual components and techniques. At the level of components, “Internationalization of the Crisis” (91.9%), “Personalization of the Crisis” (72.4%), and “Inducing Urgency” (69.3%) had the highest frequencies. At the level of techniques, “Half-truths” (91.2%), “Magnification” (51.8%), “Exaggeration” (41.9%), “Negative Portrayal” (41.4%), and “Demonization” (37.1%) were most prominent. At the level of cognitive-social themes, the highest frequencies were “Erosion of National Will” (40.3%), “Weakening National Consensus” (32.4%), and “Substitution of Foreign Narratives” (25.6%). Co-occurrence analysis showed that techniques were used in combination, with an average of more than six techniques per news item.

Results: Based on an inverse analysis approach, three defensive implications were derived: (1) proactive information transparency and a first-narrative strategy; (2) positive emotional persuasion and reproduction of collective identity; and (3) restoration of institutional trust and strengthening of social capital. These implications are theoretical inferences from textual data and require independent empirical validation in future research.