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Iran uses spy threat to widen crackdown on dissent, analysts say
Iranian authorities have sharply expanded national-security arrests, prosecutions and executions since the 2025 war, targeting alleged spies as well as protesters, journalists and lawyers, analysts told Al Jazeera. Analysts said Iran faces real espionage threats but has blurred the line between espionage and dissent, using security charges to suppress political opposition. The UN and rights groups have documented coerced confessions and mass detentions, while officials say they are protecting the country in wartime.
Since the 2025 war and the current conflict, Iranian authorities have accelerated national-security cases. Judiciary spokesman Ali Kazemi said in October that active cases involved at least 1,895 people, including 94 media workers, accused of cooperating with Israel or other hostile states. Police announced at least 21,000 arrests after the June 2025 war, and at least 50,000 people were detained in connection with nationwide protests in January 2026, according to the report. Thousands of civilians were killed in the protest crackdown, according to US-based rights group HRANA.
Negar Mortazavi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, told Al Jazeera that Iran has legitimate concerns about foreign infiltration and sabotage but that “there is a fundamental distinction between espionage and dissent.” She said criticising the government, reporting on its failures or engaging with foreign media does not in itself constitute espionage, and that authorities have increasingly blurred the distinction.
Rights groups have documented a rise in executions tied to security and protest cases. The UN said at least 19 people were hanged in espionage-related cases between June and December 2025. Iran Human Rights recorded 16 espionage defendants executed between January and September 2026, along with 33 protesters and 13 prisoners affiliated with banned groups, and tracked at least 604 executions by early October. Amnesty International reported at least 34 executions in 2026 linked to the January protests by October 13, including five between September 30 and October 5.
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