Iran turns to domestic repression after ceasefire with Israel

Officials and activists say Iran is stepping up its domestic security crackdown across the country, particularly in the restive Kurdish region, following a ceasefire with Israel, with mass arrests, executions and military deployments.

Within days of the start of the Israeli airstrikes on June 13, Iranian security forces launched a massive arrest campaign and set up checkpoints on the streets to strengthen their security presence, Reuters reported.

Israelis and some exiled opposition groups had hoped that Israel’s military strikes on Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, internal security agencies and nuclear facilities would spark a massive uprising in Iran that would topple the Islamic Republic.

While many Iranians interviewed by Reuters were angry about government policies that they believed had triggered the Israeli attacks, there were no signs of any major anti-government protests.

However, a senior Iranian security official and two other senior officials with responsibility for internal security said authorities were focused on dealing with the potential threat of domestic unrest, particularly in the Kurdish region.

The security officials said the Revolutionary Guards and Basij military units were on alert, with domestic security the top priority. The official said authorities were concerned that Israeli spies, ethnic separatists and the exiled opposition group the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK) could take advantage of the situation to launch attacks in the country.

Domestic dissidents are keeping a low profile for now.

“Everything must be done very carefully because the regime is likely to use the current situation as an excuse to crack down,” said a Tehran-based human rights activist who was detained during the mass protests in 2022.

He said dozens of people he knew had been summoned, arrested or warned not to express any dissenting opinions.

The Iranian human rights organization HRNA said on Monday that 705 people had been arrested on political or security charges since the start of the war.

Many were accused of spying for Israel, HRNA said. Iranian state media reported that three people were executed in the city of Urmia, near the Turkish border, on Tuesday. The Iranian Kurdish human rights organization Hengaw said all three were Kurds.

Iran’s foreign and interior ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.