Jerando, the Illusionist in Exile: Between Conspiracy Fantasies and Algerian-Iranian Puppetry
Once again, Hicham Jerando, that self-styled prophet of the salon with fiery rhetoric and selective outrage, returns to the stage with revelations as sensational as they are implausible. According to him, the “Patriote” operation, orchestrated by Moroccan intelligence with their Emirati “accomplices,” aims to silence every free mind on the planet—from figures like Zakaria Moumni and Ali Lmrabet to Hirak prisoners and even Netflix employees. A conspiracy of cosmic proportions, worthy of second-rate spy novels… except here, reality is even more grotesque than fiction.
In Jerando’s parallel universe, Morocco is not simply a sovereign nation defending its interests—it is a digital Leviathan that controls Pegasus, WhatsApp, social media, bank accounts, and probably even the weather. And when it’s not Hammouchi, it’s Raji or Hamieddine accused of masterminding a global conspiracy. All of this, of course, without a shred of credible evidence. But for an agitator under ideological infusion from Iran, spectacle matters more than truth.
The real revelations about Jerando don’t come from him, but from serious investigations that place him at the heart of a shadowy network controlled by Algerian and Iranian intelligence services. His Facebook page and TikTok videos are reportedly managed from the Iranian city of Qom by a unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. His funding is believed to come from “charitable foundations” that act as a front for targeted subversive operations against Morocco. This is the much-hyped “resistance fighter”: a mercenary of the Algerian-Iranian Shiite soft power apparatus.
After fleeing Canada under threat of legal action for blackmail and defamation, Jerando landed in Turkey, before being relocated to Indonesia by his Algerian handlers. He now lives in seclusion, dependent on meager survival aid delivered in dribs and drabs. Even his manipulators are beginning to doubt his usefulness. According to sources close to his circle, his mental health is deteriorating rapidly. The so-called “hero” is losing his grip, abandoned by those who once pulled his strings.
Today, what stands out most about Hicham Jerando is no longer his boldness or fiery rants, but the pathetic isolation of a man caught in his own trap. Once praised by Morocco’s adversaries as a “free voice,” he is now merely a distant echo of a worn-out discourse, completely disconnected from reality. The growing silence around his media output signals an irreversible loss of credibility. Even the networks that once backed him now appear to be scouting for a new puppet—more obedient, more coherent, and above all, more effective.