Latest news with #securitycrackdown
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Iranian authorities make sweeping arrests in wake of war with Israel
DUBAI — Iranian authorities have arrested hundreds of people and executed half a dozen in a sweeping security crackdown that analysts say is aimed at exerting control after a brief but punishing war with Israel exposed Iran's deep infiltration by Israeli intelligence. In the week since a ceasefire was declared, security forces have erected checkpoints in Tehran and other cities and urged citizens to report anything suspicious. The Iranian parliament also announced an emergency bill that includes harsher punishments for espionage, including the death penalty, and the judiciary said it ordered the creation of special courts to swiftly handle the 'traitors and mercenaries.' In a news conference Sunday, the spokesman for Iran's judiciary, Asghar Jahangir, said he would soon provide details on how many people have been arrested and on what charges. He said only that 'a number of people suspected of spying for the Zionist regime have been identified and cases filed against them.' According to local media reports and human rights groups, more than 700 people were arrested across five provinces during the 12-day conflict. The Center for Human Rights in Iran, which is based in New York, said it received credible reports of hundreds more arrested in Tehran. It reported that at least six people were executed for spying for Israel, including three who were put to death in Urmia in western Iran on June 25. Rights groups have condemned the moves, with Amnesty International warning against arbitrary executions and expedited trials. The arrests have also raised fears inside Iran that a new wave of repression is coming, as the government seeks both to root out spy networks and clamp down on any dissent among the wider population. Iranian security forces have beaten, arrested, tortured and executed thousands since the Islamic Republic was founded in 1979. More recently, the regime cracked down on nationwide protests that erupted when a woman died while in the custody of Iran's guidance patrol — or morality police — in September 2022. In the months leading up to Israel's offensive, the government appeared to ease some social restrictions, while others were tightened. The enforcement of strict female dress codes appeared to taper off in some cities, but the government increased its monitoring of discourse online. At the same time, Iranian prisons stepped up executions. At least 975 people were executed in Iran last year, according to the United Nations, which said it was the highest number recorded in nearly a decade. So when the Israeli strikes started, 26-year-old Iman, an engineer from Tehran, said he immediately began to worry about a potential crackdown. 'As long as this government exists, I am concerned about the chances of increased repression, but during times when there's an 'external threat,' the repression gets much worse as they have more excuse to see us as enemies,' he said of Iranian authorities. Iman, like some others in this story, spoke on the condition that he be identified only by his first name for fear of reprisal by security forces. Over the past week, he said he has changed the way he dresses in public, wearing less colorful clothing out of fear he could become a target. New checkpoints in Tehran, where plainclothes officers stop cars and question drivers, have contributed to an intimidating atmosphere in the sprawling capital, residents said. Zahra, 41, an activist from Tehran, she said she has heard that at least four fellow activists were rounded up during the conflict. She fears that more widespread arrests are on the horizon, she said. 'The Iranians probably don't even know the full extent of the infiltration yet,' said a Western official who was briefed on the security situation and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter. 'So, they are out there hunting,' the official said. 'Suspicions are heightened.' Perhaps most troubling, rights groups say, is the effort by parliament to make espionage a capital crime. Iran is already one of the world's top executioners, hanging people for offenses ranging from murder and rape to drug smuggling and corruption. The law would give the judiciary much broader authority to impose the death penalty, rights activists say. And while Israel pummeled Iranian military targets throughout the conflict, including weapons, infrastructure and senior commanders, the tools Iran uses to crack down domestically are largely intact, according to Afshon Ostovar, an Iran expert and professor of national security affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School in California. 'What Israel has done is really weaken the military as an external actor, but it hasn't done much to weaken it as an internal actor. And it takes a lot less to wage violence inside a country than outside of it,' Ostovar said. To crack down domestically, Iranian forces 'don't need missiles and drones and jets and helicopters. They just need rifles and big vehicles, and those still exist,' he said. 'The state hasn't lost its ability to monopolize violence.' But Ostovar doubts that Iran's leaders will reflect on some of the more uncomfortable questions about their deep unpopularity and the value of some security practices such as a mass surveillance. 'If they were reflective, they'd realize that the reason why they were so bad picking up the Israelis is because they're focused on every single person in the crowd,' he said. He referred to surveillance programs that cast wide nets, monitoring social media discourse or how Iranian women cover their hair in public. 'They have no way to discriminate who's an actual spy and who's not, because everybody with a bad hijab or tweeting the wrong thing is seen as equal to an actual foreign operative,' Ostovar said. The Iranian judiciary announced last week that it was expanding its monitoring of electronic communications. Jahangir, the judiciary spokesman, said Sunday that it would also pursue online accounts 'that were cooperating with the enemy.' Jahangir also praised Iranian citizens, who he said 'immediately provided a lot of information' that led to quick identifications and arrests. In recent days, top Iranian officials have emphasized the country's 'unity' in the face of Israel's attacks, which killed more than 900 people, according to the government. In his first public remarks since the ceasefire, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the country 'showed that when it's necessary, a unified voice will be heard from this nation, and praise God, this is what happened.' President Masoud Pezeshkian echoed those comments. Iranians learned 'not to submit to humiliation and not to bow our heads before oppression,' he said in a statement on X. 'Our voice of unity reached the ears of the world.' Regardless of the messaging, however, Iran has emerged from the conflict 'in a greatly weakened position,' said Gregory Brew, an Iran analyst with the Eurasia Group, a New York-based political risk consultancy. 'There will be questions about the strategic failures of not only the last two weeks, but of the last two years,' he said, referring to the collapse of Iran's allies in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria following the Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. That kind of accounting could lead to shuffles within the country's leadership. 'So not regime change,' Brew said. 'But changes within the regime should be expected in the months and years ahead.'
Reuters
7 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Iran crackdown, NATO promises, Mamdani and vaccines
Follow on Apple or Spotify. Listen on the Reuters app. Iran looks inward and intensifies an internal security crackdown with mass arrests, executions and military deployments. NATO's European members promise to spend 5% on defense to appease Trump, but can they afford it? U.S. Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.'s newly reorganized vaccine advisory panel threatens to upend vaccine policy, and possibly coverage. And Zohran Mamdani's stunning upset in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary has excited both sides of the political aisle. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter here. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast here. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit to opt out of targeted advertising. Further Reading Iran turns to internal crackdown in wake of 12-day war Europe placates Trump with NATO pledges it can ill afford Mamdani's stunning upset carries risks, rewards for national Democrats Kennedy's US vaccine panel breaks norms, plans to review immunization schedule Recommended Read: They voted for Trump. Most still back him - but not on everything
Fox News
7 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Iran intensifies internal security crackdown after US, Israel strikes
Iranians are experiencing internal turmoil as authorities intensify a domestic security crackdown following the 12-day war in which three major nuclear sites were effectively destroyed. There have been reports of mass arrests and executions in the country. Authorities in Iran began the crackdown following Israel's June 13 airstrikes. It started with widespread arrests and an intensified street presence, according to Reuters, which cited activists and officials. The harsh measures have dampened hopes—among some in Israel as well as Iranian dissidents—that the country could see an uprising and regime change. However, no significant demonstrations have taken place yet, Reuters reported. The outlet also noted that some on the ground expressed frustration with the Islamic Republic's policies, which they believe led to the war against the U.S. and Israel. "The regime convicts and imposes the death penalty based on trumped-up charges to spread terror among the Iranians. Meanwhile, Israel's Operation Rising Lion has helped the public realize that the Iranian regime is a paper tiger that is weaker than ever," Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) Senior Iran and Financial Economics Advisor Saeed Ghasseminejad said in a statement. The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said Monday that 705 individuals had been arrested in Iran on "political or security-related charges." This report was echoed by Islamic Republic-run Fars News Agency, which said that 700 were detained for allegedly working with Israel. In addition to the arrests, there are reports that three people in Iran accused of being Mossad spies were executed, NBC News reported, citing Tasnim, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The outlet also noted that the three were accused of bringing "assassination equipment" disguised as alcoholic beverages into the country. According to NBC News, citing Tasnim, the "equipment" was allegedly used in the assassination of a public figure. Nonprofit Iran Human Rights (IHR) warned that at least six others on death row for allegedly spying for Israel are at risk of execution. The organization also said that at least nine individuals have been executed this year on similar charges.
CBC
25-06-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Iranian government turns to internal crackdown with arrests, executions
Social Sharing Iranian authorities are pivoting from a ceasefire with Israel to intensify an internal security crackdown across the country with mass arrests, executions and military deployments, particularly in the restive Kurdish region, officials and activists say. Within days of Israel's airstrikes beginning on June 13, Iranian security forces started a campaign of widespread arrests accompanied by an intensified street presence based around checkpoints, sources have told CBC and Reuters. One man in Tehran, who responded to a CBC News callout via WhatsApp but did not provide his name, said Wednesday that security officers are stopping people at pop-up checkpoints around the city and asking them to show their phones and open their messaging apps. "It will take you only one tweet or one social network post to be arrested if the content is believed sensitive by the state," he said. Another man told CBC he feels "a deep sense of fear" that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his regime may have secured their survival and will turn their anger inward as they did in the 1980s, with crackdowns on their own people and mass executions. Some in Israel and exiled opposition groups had hoped the military campaign, which targeted Revolutionary Guards and internal security forces as well as nuclear sites, would spark a mass uprising and the overthrow of the Islamic Republic. But Alam Saleh, speaking with CBC from Tehran Wednesday, said he knows many Iranians who were critical of the regime and have changed tone in recent days, now rallying around the flag in the face of what they see as an unprovoked and unjustified war. "What was the point, what Israel and United States has achieved, in bombing Iran for 12 days?" Saleh said. "The only thing that they probably achieved is to make Iran never, never again trust these two countries." WATCH | Canadian-Iranian talks about the war: CBC's Rosemary Barton speaks with Canadian-Iranian Mina Morshed about Israel-Iran war 3 hours ago Duration 3:38 Get the latest on the CBC News App, and CBC News Network for breaking news and analysis. There has been no sign yet of any significant protests against the authorities. However, one senior Iranian security official and two other senior officials briefed on internal security issues said the authorities were focused on the threat of possible internal unrest, particularly in Kurdish areas. Revolutionary Guard and Basij paramilitary units were put on alert and internal security was now the primary focus, said the senior security official. The official said authorities were worried about Israeli agents, ethnic separatists and the People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran, an exiled opposition group that has previously staged attacks inside Iran. Activists within the country are lying low. "We are being extremely cautious right now because there's a real concern the regime might use this situation as a pretext," a rights activist in Tehran, who was jailed during mass protests in 2022, told Reuters. The activist said he knew dozens of people who had been summoned by authorities and either arrested or warned against any expressions of dissent. Kurdish groups say they're being targeted Iranian rights group HRNA said on Monday it had recorded arrests of 705 people on political or security charges since the start of the war. Many of those arrested have been accused of spying for Israel, HRNA said. Iranian state media reported three were executed on Tuesday in Urmia, near the Turkish border, and the Iranian-Kurdish rights group Hengaw said they were all Kurdish. Iran's Foreign and Interior Ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Israelis, Iranians skeptical of lasting ceasefire 20 hours ago Duration 4:25 One of the officials briefed on security said troops had been deployed to the borders of Pakistan, Iraq and Azerbaijan to stop infiltration by what the official called terrorists. The other official briefed on security acknowledged that hundreds had been arrested. Iran's mostly Sunni Muslim Kurdish and Baluch minorities have long been a source of opposition to the Islamic Republic, chafing against rule from the Persian-speaking, Shia government in Tehran. The three main Iranian Kurdish separatist factions based in Iraqi Kurdistan said some of their activists and fighters had been arrested and described widespread military and security movements by Iranian authorities. Ribaz Khalili from the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI) said Revolutionary Guards units had deployed in schools in Iran's Kurdish provinces within three days of Israel's strikes beginning and gone house-to-house for suspects and arms. The Guards had taken protective measures too, evacuating an industrial zone near their barracks and closing major roads for their own use in bringing reinforcements to Kermanshah and Sanandaj, two major cities in the Kurdish region. A cadre from the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), who gave her nom de guerre of Fatma Ahmed, said the party had counted more than 500 opposition members being detained in Kurdish provinces since the airstrikes began. Ahmed and an official from the Kurdish Komala party, who spoke on condition of anonymity, both described checkpoints being set up across Kurdish areas with physical searches of people as well as checks of their phones and documents.
Reuters
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Iran turns to internal crackdown in wake of 12-day war
ISTANBUL/BAGHDAD, June 25 (Reuters) - Iranian authorities are pivoting from a ceasefire with Israel to intensify an internal security crackdown across the country with mass arrests, executions and military deployments, particularly in the restive Kurdish region, officials and activists said. Within days of Israel's airstrikes beginning on June 13, Iranian security forces started a campaign of widespread arrests accompanied by an intensified street presence based around checkpoints, the officials and activists said. Some in Israel and exiled opposition groups had hoped the military campaign, which targeted Revolutionary Guards and internal security forces as well as nuclear sites, would spark a mass uprising and the overthrow of the Islamic Republic. While Reuters has spoken to numerous Iranians angry at the government for policies they believed had led to the Israeli attack, there has been no sign yet of any significant protests against the authorities. However, one senior Iranian security official and two other senior officials briefed on internal security issues said the authorities were focused on the threat of possible internal unrest, particularly in Kurdish areas. Revolutionary Guard and Basij paramilitary units were put on alert and internal security was now the primary focus, said the senior security official. The official said authorities were worried about Israeli agents, ethnic separatists and the People's Mujahideen Organisation, an exiled opposition group that has previously staged attacks inside Iran. Activists within the country are lying low. "We are being extremely cautious right now because there's a real concern the regime might use this situation as a pretext," said a rights activist in Tehran who was jailed during mass protests in 2022. The activist said he knew dozens of people who had been summoned by authorities and either arrested or warned against any expressions of dissent. Iranian rights group HRNA said on Monday it had recorded arrests of 705 people on political or security charges since the start of the war. Many of those arrested have been accused of spying for Israel, HRNA said. Iranian state media reported three were executed on Tuesday in Urmia, near the Turkish border, and the Iranian-Kurdish rights group Hengaw said they were all Kurdish. Iran's Foreign and Interior Ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. One of the officials briefed on security said troops had been deployed to the borders of Pakistan, Iraq and Azerbaijan to stop infiltration by what the official called terrorists. The other official briefed on security acknowledged that hundreds had been arrested. Iran's mostly Sunni Muslim Kurdish and Baluch minorities have long been a source of opposition to the Islamic Republic, chafing against rule from the Persian-speaking, Shi'ite government in Tehran. The three main Iranian Kurdish separatist factions based in Iraqi Kurdistan said some of their activists and fighters had been arrested and described widespread military and security movements by Iranian authorities. Ribaz Khalili from the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI) said Revolutionary Guards units had deployed in schools in Iran's Kurdish provinces within three days of Israel's strikes beginning and gone house-to-house for suspects and arms. The Guards had taken protective measures too, evacuating an industrial zone near their barracks and closing major roads for their own use in bringing reinforcements to Kermanshah and Sanandaj, two major cities in the Kurdish region. A cadre from the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), who gave her nom de guerre of Fatma Ahmed, said the party had counted more than 500 opposition members being detained in Kurdish provinces since the airstrikes began. Ahmed and an official from the Kurdish Komala party, who spoke on condition of anonymity, both described checkpoints being set up across Kurdish areas with physical searches of people as well as checks of their phones and documents.
