Arrests in unison: Iran massively increases internal repression

While the international community observes the fragile ceasefire between Iran and Israel, civilians in Iran continue to be persecuted by the regime. The stronger the pressure from outside, the more pressure from within.

They are alleged to have spied on military bases, leaked secret government information to the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, or stockpiled weapons and drones to fight for Israel. According to the Iranian state-affiliated news agency Fars News, around 700 arrests were made in Iran during the twelve-day war for alleged links to Israel. State media also report that at least six men have been executed for spying for the arch-enemy since the Israeli attack.

While the world's attention is focused on the war zones in the region, the Iranian regime is cracking down even more relentlessly on its domestic critics. Rocked by defeats across the region, the Islamic Republic now stands weakened and vulnerable. The pillars that once supported it—ideology, influence, and fear—are crumbling. The "war against Zionism" and the confrontation with the US serve to enforce national unity and to smear critical voices as "unpatriotic" or "foreign-controlled." Human rights activist Hossein Ronaghi reports on X that the regime is "currently fully focused on oppressing the population" and, even under adverse circumstances, continues to persecute women for wearing the headscarf.

Ronaghi, who served a total of six years in prison for criticizing the regime, warns of a "wave of sham trials" designed to "silence dissent and legitimize their own brutality." According to Roya Boroumand, executive director of the US-based Iranian non-governmental organization Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, the Iranian authorities are attempting to suppress public discontent over Israel's "humiliating blow" with the current repression. "To maintain control and prevent opponents from organizing and mobilizing within the country, the Iranian leadership is now relying on fear. And this may be just the beginning," Boroumand told AFP.

Prison for demanding protection

In addition to arrests for alleged espionage, dozens are being arrested for criticizing the regime. Furthermore, people previously imprisoned in the notorious Evin Prison are disappearing. Dental student Motahareh Goonei, for example, was arrested immediately after the war began after demanding protection for the population: "You can't even protect your own commanders!" she wrote on X. Only in March had the young woman been released from Evin Prison after a year in prison, having served a sentence for "propaganda against the state." One of the reasons for this was her participation in a protest against the now-overturned death sentence against rapper Toomaj Salehi.

Tehran's Evin Prison is the political symbol of the resistance against the Islamic Republic. In addition to "ordinary" inmates, political prisoners such as Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, journalists, opposition politicians, and civilians who rebelled against the regime are held here. It is also popularly known as "Evin University." An Israeli attack there on June 23 killed 71 people, including administrative staff, inmates, and visitors to detainees. The surviving political prisoners were taken to an unknown location and have no contact with their relatives. Using the hashtag #where_is_our_prisoner , the families of the disappeared and activists are demanding answers about the whereabouts of the deportees. There has also been no sign of life from Motahareh Goonei.

Hundreds of executions last year

Repression against the civilian population has even intensified since the nationwide protests under the slogan "Jin, Jiyan, Azadî!" - "Women, Life, Freedom" were crushed in 2022/2023. According to Amnesty International, at least 972 people were executed in Iran last year. After China, Iran is the country with the highest number of executions in the world .

According to the Iran Human Rights Monitor, 577 people were executed this year alone. Just days before the outbreak of war, Mojahed Korkor was killed in southwestern Ahvaz. His crime: participating in the "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests. He has been in prison ever since. A video was published on X in which his mother recounts how the authorities denied the family a farewell visit. On Thursday, the father, Rezgar Beigzadeh Babamiri, was sentenced to death for helping demonstrators injured by police during the "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests.

Resistance, despite everything

Dissatisfaction in the country is widespread. Experts such as Islamic scholar Katajun Amirpur estimate that "80 to 90 percent of the population" does not support the regime, as Amirpur writes in a guest article for the "Süddeutsche Zeitung."

Despite repressive measures, people from various sectors have been taking to the streets for months. Employees of the Tehran Metro, refinery workers, and healthcare workers are demanding better working conditions and timely payment of their wages. There have also been brief work stoppages. Immediately before the war, truck drivers in around 155 cities went on strike for several days. The reason was growing frustration over fuel restrictions and a lack of government support. Naturally, there were numerous arrests.

At the same time, the economy is in a disastrous state. In May, inflation was 38.7 percent. The rial has lost half its value in one year. While the regime blames US sanctions and external pressure for the economic downturn, the real problem lies in decades of mismanagement and corruption. While poverty in the country is growing and the middle class is declining, the regime is pouring billions of US dollars into arming the army and financing militias fighting against Israel. It is therefore not surprising that social media has sometimes reacted mockingly to Israel's targeted killings of senior military officers. Videos have been shared of high-ranking military officers declaring that Israel would never dare to attack Iran. Videos have also been shared of military officers praising Iran's ability to repel attacks with its strong military capabilities.

But even though many Iranians desire the fall of the regime, they don't want to pay for it with their lives or be pressured into it from outside. "It has never been a secret what Iranians want. They have shown it to the world with courage and persistence for over four decades," writes writer Sahar Delijani on Instagram. Delijani was born in Evin Prison. "What Iranians want is a free, secular, democratic society and a political infrastructure that protects and guarantees it. What Iranians want is solidarity. Not war. Not bombs. Not invasion. What Iranians want is the chance to shape their own future—a right that should not be denied to anyone."

A future the so-called Ekbatan Boys may never have: The six young men demonstrated in 2022 in the Tehran district of Ekbatan, which was considered a center of resistance. They have been in prison since their arrest and were sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court last November. They are symbolic figures of urban resistance – young men without weapons, but with cell phone cameras. The whereabouts of some of them are unknown, or even whether they are still alive.