Hundreds of people have been detained across the country over the past two weeks, according to information reviewed by Iran International and local reports. Many detainees’ identities, locations of detention and legal status remain unknown.
Arrests have been reported in multiple provinces including East and West Azarbaijan, Alborz, Isfahan, Tehran, Khuzestan, Kordestan, Kerman, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Gilan, Lorestan and Yazd. Authorities have accused detainees of offenses such as “disturbing public opinion,” “propaganda against the system,” “online activities,” “disrupting public security,” and “cooperation with hostile countries.”
State television and security-linked outlets have simultaneously broadcast forced confessions from some detainees, raising concerns among rights advocates that the statements could be used to justify prosecutions. Human rights organizations have repeatedly criticized the Islamic Republic for using televised confessions obtained under pressure as evidence in court proceedings.
Officials have accompanied the crackdown with increasingly explicit threats.
Ahmadreza Radan, commander of Iran’s police, said more than 80 people had been arrested for spreading “disturbing content” online. He added that thousands of others had received warning text messages over posts deemed to spread panic.
Radan also warned that police would respond forcefully to any street protests, saying officers would be “ready to pull the trigger” if demonstrations occur.
Meanwhile, state television aired a program in which a presenter threatened government opponents, saying authorities would eventually pursue them whether they were inside or outside the country.
Security agencies have also reported new arrests linked to alleged espionage. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said six people were detained in Kordestan province and one individual was killed during an operation. The Guards-affiliated Fars website reported that intelligence forces arrested 50 people in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province. The Intelligence Ministry said at least 30 others were detained on accusations of spying for the United States and Israel.
Authorities have also targeted those documenting the conflict. The ministry warned that filming or photographing strike locations could amount to acting as the “enemy’s fifth column.” Guards intelligence officials said some individuals who sent images of attacks to media outlets had already been arrested.
Internet disruptions have further limited the flow of information. The monitoring group NetBlocks reported that a nationwide internet blackout continues for hundreds of hours.
The group warned the shutdown posed a direct threat to civilians by restricting access to vital information. With communications cut in many areas, families of detainees say they often do not know where relatives are being held.
Threats have also extended beyond Iran’s borders. The office of Iran’s prosecutor general issued a statement warning Iranians abroad that assets could be seized and severe penalties imposed if authorities determine they have “cooperated with the enemy.”
The statement broadly defined such cooperation as providing intelligence or engaging in activities benefiting Israel, the United States or other “hostile states.” Officials said legal proceedings against such individuals had entered an “operational phase,” including asset identification and confiscation.
At the same time, reports have emerged of expanded security deployments in cities nationwide. Revolutionary Guards and Basij units have established checkpoints in urban areas, with citizens reporting aggressive searches of vehicles and mobile phones.
A resident of Tehran told Iran International that police at a checkpoint in Haft-e Tir Square forced him to unlock his phone and searched through his calls, photos and videos.
Another resident in Isfahan said Basij personnel threatened him and his family with weapons during an inspection at a busy city square. According to the witness, officers treated civilians as if they were the enemy.
Security checkpoints themselves have increasingly become targets in the ongoing conflict. Video circulating online shows drone strikes hitting Basij checkpoints and equipment in Tehran.
The Fars website reported that at least 10 Basij and security personnel stationed at checkpoints in the capital were killed in strikes on Wednesday evening. Additional attacks on similar positions have been reported in other cities.
The Israeli military later said its air force had targeted Basij checkpoints and personnel in Tehran, describing them as part of the Islamic Republic’s internal security apparatus used to suppress dissent.
Data from the US-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project recorded at least 18 Israeli strikes on Basij checkpoints on Wednesday alone, most of them in Tehran.
The arrests and heightened street controls come as Iran’s prison system is already under severe strain following previous protest crackdowns that saw tens of thousands detained. Human rights groups say many prisons face overcrowding, poor sanitation and shortages of basic supplies.
At the same time, some detention facilities and intelligence buildings have reportedly been damaged in airstrikes, raising further uncertainty about where newly arrested individuals are being held.
With communication restrictions still in place and many detentions unacknowledged by authorities, families and rights advocates say concerns are growing about the fate of hundreds of people detained during one of the most volatile periods in Iran in years.
