Iran has launched a sweeping crackdown on suspected collaborators with Israeli intelligence, executing six indiaviduals and arresting hundreds more in what authorities describe as a battle to protect national security following the recent 12-day war with Israel.
The arrests and executions mark one of the most intense internal security operations in recent years. Officials say the clampdown is a response to what they call an unprecedented infiltration of Iran’s security apparatus by Israeli agents.
According to the government, intelligence leaks enabled the targeted assassination of senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders and nuclear scientists during the conflict — operations Iran attributes to Israel’s Mossad working with internal collaborators.
“The Israeli spy network has become highly active inside the country,” Fars News Agency reported, citing unnamed IRGC sources. “Since the beginning of Israel’s attack on Iran on 13 June, more than 700 individuals linked to this network have been arrested.”
Three men accused of spying for Israel were executed during the war, and three more were hanged on Wednesday, just one day after a ceasefire took effect. State-run television has aired purported confessions from detainees who allegedly admitted to working with Mossad, the CIA, and MI6 — confessions that human rights groups say may have been obtained under duress.
Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence described the situation as a “relentless battle” against foreign espionage. “We are confronting an organised attempt by Western and Zionist intelligence agencies to destabilise our country,” it said in a statement.
However, human rights organisations have raised alarms over the rapid pace of executions and mass detentions. “This pattern echoes Iran’s long-standing practice of extracting forced confessions and conducting unfair trials,” said one international rights group. “There is a very real fear that many more executions could follow.”
Activists say the campaign goes far beyond legitimate concerns about espionage. Critics argue that the government is using the crisis to silence dissent and increase domestic control, particularly as international scrutiny of Iran intensifies in the aftermath of the war.
“Security forces are targeting not only alleged spies but also activists, writers, artists, and even the families of past protesters,” one political analyst told BBC Persian. “The scope of this crackdown is alarmingly wide.”
Among those detained are relatives of Iranians killed during the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests, as well as prominent cultural figures. In many cases, no formal charges have been issued.
Exiled journalists have also come under pressure. BBC Persian staff say threats against them and their families escalated sharply during the conflict. According to affected reporters, Iranian security officials have contacted relatives in Iran, declaring that “in wartime,” targeting family members as hostages is a legitimate tactic. Journalists have been labelled mohareb — “enemies of God” — a capital offence under Iranian law.
Iran International reported that the IRGC detained the mother, father, and brother of one of its presenters in Tehran to force her resignation. The presenter received a phone call from her father, reportedly coerced by security agents, urging her to quit and warning of “further consequences.”
Manoto TV has documented similar threats against employees’ relatives, some of whom were warned they could face charges of espionage or “enmity against God.”
“Iran’s security apparatus is using collective punishment and hostage-taking to silence free media,” said a spokesperson for Iran International. “This is state terror directed at journalists.”
Ordinary Iranians have also been caught up in the dragnet. BBC Persian reports that many people received text messages from Iran’s intelligence ministry warning them that their phone numbers appeared on social media platforms linked to Israel. The messages instructed them to leave those pages or face prosecution.
Internet restrictions remain in place even after the ceasefire. During the conflict, authorities significantly curtailed online access, a tactic frequently employed during periods of unrest. Popular platforms like Instagram, Telegram, X, and YouTube remain blocked, along with Persian-language news websites such as BBC Persian and Iran International. Access is only possible through virtual private networks (VPNs).
Observers say the government’s actions are reminiscent of the 1980s, when Tehran used the Iran-Iraq War as justification for a brutal internal purge. In particular, many have drawn parallels to 1988, when thousands of political prisoners were executed in secret and buried in unmarked mass graves.
“There are disturbing echoes of that era in what’s happening now,” said one Tehran-based human rights lawyer. “Iran’s leadership, facing international isolation and internal vulnerability, is once again turning inward — with devastating consequences.”
Boluwatife Enome
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