Iran Cracks Down Hard After War, and No One Is Safe
Iran’s postwar crackdown is moving at full throttle—and it’s sweeping up everyone in its path. In her latest dispatch for The Media Line, reporter Felice Friedson traces how the Islamic Republic has launched a wave of arrests, executions, and surveillance targeting suspected dissidents, spies, and just about anyone who might look sideways at the regime.
On Saturday, authorities detained Behnaz Mahjoubi in Kerman, dragging her from her workplace without a warrant. Her brother, Benham, died in prison in 2021 after being jailed during a deadly crackdown on the Gonabadi Dervish minority. Now it seems the regime is coming after the next of kin.
Three more men were executed this week for allegedly spying for Israel’s Mossad. State media called it a “season of traitor-killing.” According to activist Iman Forouton, anyone linked to past protests—or simply belonging to the wrong religious minority, like the Baháʼí—could be at risk. Checkpoints are popping up every mile, phones are being searched, and new laws allow the state to monitor online behavior more aggressively than ever.
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But while the regime tightens its grip, Mossad is making sure Iranians know they’re not alone. In an unusually public move, Israel’s spy agency posted messages in Farsi assuring citizens that their fight is with the regime, not with the people. “Stay away from regime targets,” one post warned. “We will do our utmost to ensure no harm comes to you.”
The Iranian regime is sending texts threatening surveillance. Mossad is sending doctors. And caught in the middle are everyday Iranians, trapped in a country unraveling under the weight of paranoia and repression.
Want the full picture? Read Felice Friedson’s powerful reporting at The Media Line.
