Iran: Authorities unleash wave of oppression after hostilities with Israel
Iranian authorities are waging a terrifying crackdown under the guise of national security in the aftermath of the June 2025 hostilities with Israel, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today. The deepening crisis underscores the urgent need for the international community to pursue concrete criminal accountability measures.
Since 13 June, Iranian authorities have arrested over 20,000 people, including dissidents, human rights defenders, journalists, social media users, families of victims unlawfully killed in nationwide protests and foreign nationals. Others targeted include Afghans, members of the Baluchi and Kurdish ethnic minorities, and members of the Baha’i, Christian and Jewish religious minorities.
“As people struggle to recover from the devastating effects of the armed conflict between Iran and Israel, Iranian authorities are unleashing a terrifying crackdown,” said Sara Hashash, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International. “The authorities’ domestic machinery of repression remains unrelenting as they ratchet up already oppressive widespread surveillance, mass arrests and incitement to discrimination, hostility and violence against minorities.”
Security forces have killed people at vehicle checkpoints, including a 3-year-old girl. Officials and state-affiliated media have called for expedited executions, in some cases advocating a repeat of the 1988 prison massacres in which senior officials ordered the summary and extrajudicial execution of thousands of political prisoners. At least nine men have been executed on politically motivated charges and/or accusations of espionage for Israel and an expedited parliamentary bill further expanding the scope of the death penalty is awaiting final approval.
