Iran among the world’s biggest jailers of journalists, press watchdog says

“Unfortunately, in the past two weeks, I was summoned to these agencies because some fellow Jews posted comments and liked false content, causing misunderstandings among the country's intelligence agencies,” Najafabadi said in an open letter published on his Telegram channel.

Najafabadi called on members of the Jewish community in Iran to refrain from leaving comments or likes on social media that might cause suspicion.

“You are requested, if you have published any unusual, sensitive, or misconstruable comments or likes in cyberspace, to delete them as soon as possible,” the letter said.

‘Unfollow IDF’

“If you are a member of channels and pages of the Zionist regime, including Israel in Persian, and other hostile pages and channels, it is essential to immediately unfollow and cancel membership,” the letter added.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) maintains a series of active accounts and channels on social media platforms such as X, Instagram, Facebook and Telegram in Persian.

“Continuing membership in the mentioned channels or failing to delete comments and likes could lead to judicial problems, and pursuing and resolving the issue in the future will become much more difficult,” it said.

The letter is the latest document in an extensive campaign by Iranian intelligence agencies against the Jewish community, which has intensified after a 12-day war with Israel in June.

Since the recent military confrontation with Israel, dozens of Iranian Jews have been arrested on charges of "collaboration with hostile regimes.”

Kamran Hekmati, a 70-year-old Jewish man from New York, a father and grandfather who runs a jewelry business and holds dual American-Iranian citizenship, is currently detained. Rights groups, colleagues, and friends say he is being questioned over a past trip to Israel.

Hekmati was sentenced to prison in Iran for a trip he made 13 years ago to Israel to hold a ceremony for his son.

According to Israeli media reports, before the 1979 revolution, about 80,000 to 100,000 Jews lived in Iran, but today their number has decreased to fewer than 10,000.

To many viewers it looks like a cultural opening: a genre long associated with underground resistance now visible on mainstream screens.

But researcher and artist Siavash Rokni, a postdoctoral fellow at McGill University in Montreal who studies Iranian youth culture, pop music and the communication dynamics of social movements, argues that that the reality is more complicated.

“It is a public relations performance,” he said. “It is fooling a lot of people, and we need to stop being fooled by it.”

Rokni has followed the evolution of Iran’s rap scene across five generations. He sees the new appetite for rap not as legalization but domestication, turning underground culture into something profitable and controllable.

Entertainment shows and “normal” rappers

One of the most watched programs in this space is BaZia, hosted by a former Iranian state television personality now living in Turkey. According to Rokni, the show’s guest selection and narratives suggest an ongoing connection with Iran.

“Technically speaking, he is no longer connected to the system,” Rokni said. “But the way he chooses his guests shows there is a connection.”

The rappers appearing on BaZia help normalize a particular type of rap that is not inclusive of all aspects of this cultural practice. Many of the same rappers featured on BaZia are now set to appear in a new rap-themed program hosted by him called GANG. Rokni says it shows how this was part of a larger plan to create momentum for the new show while normalizing a particular narrative of regime approved rap.

The narrative, Rokni said, “comes very slowly” through a sequence of interviews. Artists describe performing abroad but wanting to return. Producers talk about the economic advantage of bringing rap back while being able to control the content.

Money, control and aesthetics

Much of Iran’s music economy is in the hands of a profit-minded clique, Rokni said.

“The people who are running this oligarchical capitalism are connected to the Islamic Republic,” he said. “They just want to make cash.”

He stressed that the motivation is not necessarily ideological. Many simply benefit from the system’s structures.

The appearance of rap on screens has been accompanied by pressure and arrests behind the scenes. In early October at least five rappers and a composer were detained in Tehran and Shiraz, according to the Center for Human Rights in Iran.

Security forces raided homes, seized phones and recording equipment and transferred the men to detention.

Within days videos appeared on their Instagram accounts with shaved heads and visible tattoos, apologizing on camera. Lawyers told CHRI the accounts had been taken over by cyber police.

One of the most high profile cases remains Toomaj Salehi, whose lyrics became an anthem of the Women Life Freedom movement.

He was arrested, abused in detention, sentenced to death, released on bail and then rearrested after publicly describing his treatment. Supporters say he is targeted because he refuses to leave Iran or be silent.

Female rappers face even greater constraints. Iran bans solo female singers from performing publicly or releasing their own vocals, forcing artists into exile or underground spaces. Studios refused to record them and venues were raided for illegal performances.

Why normalize rap at all?

Rokni traces the logic back to then Iranian president Mohammad Khatami era when the government offered small cultural openings to create a sense of possibility.

“You free some cultural restrictions and reconcile with the people,” he said. “You give hope. And that can be taken away very easily.”

He called this strategy dishonest. Licensing and televised satire, he said, do not signal reform. They are tools for narrative management.

Oppression, he argued, is often brief.

“They put a lid on it,” he said. “But the program starts after that.”

The backlash against licensed rappers, especially those connected to the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, has been emotional. Some consider state approved albums a betrayal. Others see economic survival.

Rokni believes the solution is parallel economies, enabling musicians to make money without going through state linked producers or licensing offices.

“Do it yourself,” he said. He pointed to artists who built audiences through Instagram and streaming platforms.

In today’s Iran rap carries two meanings. One version is polished, licensed and safe. The other remains underground created by musicians who refuse to compromise.

Both exist at once but only one is protected.

Mizan, the judiciary’s outlet quoted the chief justice of Alborz province, Hossein Fazeli Herikandi as saying that the defendant, who is a European country resident, allegedly held “multiple meetings with Mossad officers during a visit to Israel.”

Harikandi provided no evidence supporting the accusation and did not disclose the suspect’s identity – a pattern seen in past espionage cases brought by the Islamic Republic, many of which have later been discredited.

Rights groups note that Iran has repeatedly detained, prosecuted and even executed individuals on espionage charges without presenting verifiable proof.

One of the most prominent examples is the case of Mazyar Ebrahimi, arrested in 2012 and tortured into confessing to assassinating nuclear scientists – a claim he later exposed as fabricated.

Arrest during the 12-day war

Intelligence agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mizan said, arrested the dual national on the fourth day of the 12-day war between Iran and Israel.

“Complex espionage and intelligence equipment” was found at his residence, the report said, but did not specify what those items were or whether the defendant has had access to independent legal counsel.

Following the war, Iran’s judiciary has accelerated arrests and prosecutions on charges of “espionage” or “collaboration with Israel.” In October, political prisoner Javad Naeimi was executed in Qom on such charges.

Pattern of politically driven arrests

Over recent years, the Islamic Republic has detained dozens of foreign and dual nationals, often accusing them of spying or security offenses. Human-rights groups describe the practice as “state hostage-taking,” arguing Tehran uses detainees to pressure Western governments and extract concessions.

International monitors have repeatedly cited Iran’s judiciary for due-process violations, noting that many political defendants are denied independent lawyers and face opaque trials.

Iranian media on Monday described the charges against Esmail Kahrom as relating to making “false statements” and actions “against national security.”

Prosecutors also opened a case against the editor-in-chief of the Jamaran news site, which published Kahrom’s interview.

In the November 30 conversation, Kahrom said that each missile costs roughly two million dollars and argued that if public health mattered to officials, they could redirect the equivalent of 10 missiles to upgrade fuel standards. He said authorities refused because “their priorities lie elsewhere.”

Iran, one of the largest oil and gas producers in the world, is facing a severe natural gas shortage. That shortage has prompted refineries to bulk out the fuel's volume with other substances, like mazut which environmentalists believe has played a major role in Iran's worsening air pollution.

Kahrom warned that the mazut used in Iran contains sulfur levels “seven times the global standard,” and that domestic fuel quality is also inadequate. His comments triggered sharp pushback from state-affiliated outlets.

Mazut, the non-standard gasoline contains harmful additives and has significantly contributed to the air pollution crisis in the country.

The use of the low-grade fuel mazut by power plants in Iran has been linked to severe harm to public health and even fatalities, with Iranians frequently expressing frustration over the worsening air quality and pollution in many cities.

State media dismiss environmental concerns

Young Journalists Club, tied to state broadcaster IRIB, wrote that “certain groups believe defense budgets should be spent on the environment,” calling national security a nonnegotiable necessity and portraying environmental debates as a distraction.

Farhikhtegan, a newspaper affiliated with the state-run Islamic Azad University, similarly argued – referencing the 12-day war with Israel – that critics forget “without deterrence, the cost of war would far outweigh any air pollution.”

Environmental warnings have frequently been downplayed or mocked by officials and pro-government media. Past concerns over water scarcity, energy crises, deforestation and land subsidence have met similar resistance.

A prominent example was the campaign against hydrologist Kaveh Madani, who faced accusations of espionage after warning of impending water collapse and ultimately left the country.

Iran has faced worsening air pollution in recent years alongside severe water and energy shortages, with experts tracing the crisis to aging infrastructure, poor fuel quality and policy inaction.

The figures indicate an average of 12 executions per day – roughly one every two hours.

The executions took place in prisons in different cities across Iran, reports from the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) and the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) said. Iranian state media acknowledged only one case.

According to the groups, 23 of those executed had been convicted on murder or drug-related charges, while one person was hanged in connection with an economic case. The judiciary confirmed the latter, describing the individual as a business owner accused of “economic corruption.”

Rights groups warn the real toll is higher

Activists said the announced figure reflects only confirmed cases. Many executions in Iran are carried out in secrecy, and details often reach human-rights organizations weeks or months later due to what monitors call systemic opacity within the judiciary.

The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights said on December 4 that at least 152 people – including five women and several foreign nationals – were executed in November. At least 1,426 people had been executed in the first 11 months of 2025, a 70-percent increase over the same period last year, the organization reported. HRANA has documented more than 1,500 executions between October 2024 and October 2025.

Growing international criticism

The surge has drawn condemnation from foreign governments and international bodies. The UK Foreign Office last month urged Iran to halt executions immediately. Days earlier, the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee passed a resolution condemning the Islamic Republic’s human-rights record, citing the rising number of executions, violations of women’s rights, repression of protesters and cross-border intimidation.

Rights organizations continue to call for stronger international pressure, warning that Iran’s accelerating execution rate reflects what they view as a deepening crisis in due process and the protection of fundamental rights.