Politico reports:

The Iran war is risking America’s global security ties and damaging its reputation, especially among the world’s Muslims, according to a set of State Department cables obtained by POLITICO.

The cables, dated Wednesday, described the fallout of the war for America’s standing in three countries in different parts of the world: Bahrain, Azerbaijan and Indonesia.

U.S. diplomats at embassies in the countries’ capitals painted damning portraits of an America under siege in multiple media spheres by pro-Iranian actors that are exceptionally agile in the digital space.

In Azerbaijan, what had been a significantly improving relationship has hit a plateau at best, and appears to be faltering. Bahrain’s government is facing questions about whether the U.S. abandoned it to fend for itself against Iranian drones and missiles. And Indonesia’s leader could face growing calls to reduce security ties with the U.S.

Some of the cables describe anti-U.S. sentiment that is having an immediate impact, while others raise concerns that relationships could be in danger if the war continues much longer. Taken together, the cables paint a picture of countries where the U.S. is losing the population’s trust, and potentially that of their governments.

The cables carry veiled requests for the Trump administration to free up American embassies to fight such negative narratives online and in traditional media.

Embassies need to “have the freedom for flexible, quick and proactive social media to meet the challenge of making an impact in an overcrowded digital space,” argues the embassy cable from Jakarta, Indonesia.

U.S. embassies have been instructed not to create original content about the Iran war to share publicly and instead are largely limited to reposting approved messaging from the White House or the State Department headquarters online, according to a U.S. diplomat and other documents obtained by POLITICO.

The fact that the cables were sent at all suggests the situation in the countries is increasingly dire. That’s because many U.S. diplomats have become afraid to speak up under the Trump administration after it largely sidelined them from key foreign policy decisions, fired numerous members of the Foreign Service and emphasized “fidelity” for those left, two U.S. diplomats said. [Continue reading…]