Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, a renown Iranian reformist journalist, has branded critics of the recent Iranian military strike against Israel as "defenders of the devil."

Shamsolvaezin expressed support for the attack in an interview with the Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), saying, "Unfortunately, some inside the country have become defenders of the devil, claiming that nothing has happened and that the missiles did not hit at all; they promote and reproduce 99 percent of the Israeli narrative, which is very dangerous."

His remarks coincide with increased pressure from the IRGC on the media and journalists to align with the regime's narrative. On Saturday, the Intelligence Organization of the IRGC urged the Iranian public to report any pro-Israel activities observed online.

Legal action has also been initiated against the Jahan Sanat newspaper and one of its journalists for allegedly "compromising national security" through their coverage of the operation against Israel.

Shamsolvaezin, 66, is a doyen of the Iranian media scene who edited several of Iran's foremost independent newspapers post-revolution, including Kayhan, Jame'eh, Neshat, and Asr-e Azadegan. He is also the spokesperson for the Iranian Committee for the Defense of Freedom of the Press and vice president of the Association of Iranian Journalists. The CPJ International Press Freedom Award winner in 2000, Shamsolvaezin has been to jail many times due to his journalism.

On the military front, Iran's retaliation against Israel involved over 350 drone and missile launches Saturday night, following an airstrike on April 1 that targeted the Iranian consulate in Damascus and killed several IRGC members, including two high-ranking commanders.

Despite the significant number of projectiles being intercepted by Israeli defenses and their allies, the Iranian regime has declared the operation a “success.” Iran's proxies in Iraq and Yemen also participated in the coordinated attack.