Iran’s authorities harden domestic security controls amid US strike threats 

Tehran, Iran – Iran’s domestic security apparatus is on high alert and hardening its approach in dealing with issues that authorities perceive to be jeopardising their control of the country during the war with the United States.

Iranian authorities have issued warnings to the public about tough sentences if they protest against the government and are tightening their control in public spaces after months of loosened restrictions on how people dress.

In short, the Iranian authorities appear to be trying to project an image that they will not yield on the principles of the Islamic Republic after eight months of war and amid the threat of a new, wider, more intense wave of US attacks.

Mahjoob Zweiri, director of the Gulf Studies Center at Qatar University, said the authorities have also been able to publicly mobilise supporters dedicated to the continuity of the government in Tehran amid these tensions.

“They include not only IRGC but also some civilians, and this is likely to continue until the war finishes,” he told Al Jazeera, referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a military entity established to safeguard the principles of the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Heavy punishments for dissent

Iranian authorities routinely deploy harsh punishments to deter any form of dissent. The war, which began on October 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iranian leaders, has only accelerated this process.

On Sunday, the judiciary said three young men arrested during nationwide protests in January were executed for allegedly attacking government offices and damaging public property near Tehran to benefit the US and Israel.

The authorities consider the antigovernment protests a “coup” attempt by “terrorists” affiliated with the US and Israel. But an independent United Nations fact-finding mission found the authorities had committed crimes against humanity during a violent crackdown on protesters that human rights groups said killed thousands of people, mostly on the nights of January 8 and 9.

Foreign-based rights organisations said many political cases that result in executions are marred by allegations of torture, forced confessions and other violations of due process.

This year, Iran’s government has executed at least 79 political or religious prisoners, including 40 people arrested during the January protests, according to the Norway-based Hengaw Organization for Human Rights. Some were executed after espionage convictions.

“Iran is a country at war with the world’s lone superpower, whose strategy toward Tehran remains unclear, and with Israel, whose government pursues a declared policy of overthrowing the regime in Tehran, whether through economic and military warfare or by partitioning Iran through a US- and Israeli-backed civil war,” political scientist Ali Alfoneh said.

“Taking these circumstances into consideration, the authorities of the Islamic Republic are no more repressive than any other regime facing similar threats.”

In some cases, authorities have loosened their enforcement of laws on the mandatory headscarf, the consumption of alcohol, the use of narcotics and other social issues in what Alfoneh said was in part to keep people busy with activities that might distract them from political activism.

“Repression appears to be reserved for matters of political freedom and for antiregime uprisings,” Alfoneh said.

Contrasting scenes on the streets

There are signs that authorities are now cracking down on what they perceive to be public opposition to the principles of Iran’s theocracy as the war continues.

In Tehran on October 30, hundreds of mostly Gen Z Iranians celebrated Halloween by wearing makeup or costumes and gathering in cafes on artsy Iranshahr Street.

Within hours, motorcyclists and plainclothes security personnel arrived to disperse the crowds and close down cafes. Assaults and detentions were reported. People enjoying the evening in nearby Artists Park were reportedly ordered away.

The authorities did not officially comment on the incident but have since set up pro-government stations and booths on the same street, where supporters chant “revolutionary” slogans in praise of the government and wave flags.

Pro-government demonstrators have blocked city squares and streets in Tehran since the war began in perceived messages of defiance to domestic and external opponents.

As part of the “self-sacrifice” Janfada campaign, some of them receive gun training and other support at these locations to serve as part of the Basij, a domestic IRGC paramilitary force, which has been used to crack down on antigovernment protests.

Even before Halloween, police criticised gatherings on Iranshahr, Sanai and other streets in Tehran that have become popular gathering spots for young Iranians looking for space to express themselves amid deteriorating living conditions resulting from the war, an economic crisis and domestic mismanagement.

“Those streets have unfortunately turned into a place where people cruise and walk around,” Tehran traffic police chief Teymour Hosseini said last month. He also hinted that the gatherings of young people were the reason cafes and businesses have been shut down by police in recent months.

The government also continues to impose a dress code, especially for women, since shortly after the 1979 revolution. But since the nationwide Mahsa Amini protests of 2022-2023, women have increasingly ditched their headscarves in public in Tehran and other cities in defiance of the law.

Hossein Shariatmadari, a hardline media figure, wrote in an article that loose hijabs were “one of the levers used by the enemy in the coming war” and must be taken seriously.

“The enemy has been defeated in military confrontation with Islamic Iran and has now shifted a considerable part of its abilities towards war in economic and cultural areas, particularly through expanding loose hijab,” he said.

War or negotiations for the future

State crackdowns have also attracted some limited attention in local media although for different reasons.

“A tense night in Iranshahr”, the reformist Shargh newspaper wrote about the operation on the eve of Halloween, urging policymakers to study what people want and provide attractive cultural opportunities. The Rouydad24 news website questioned the usefulness of treating the cultural preferences of young people as security problems.

The ultraconservative Keyhan newspaper wrote that Halloween celebrations were evidence of “cultural alienation” that was weakening knowledge of ancient traditions like Nowruz, the Persian New Year.

But Iranian authorities over the years have politicised domestic traditions too, namely by restricting and shooting at Chaharshanbe Suri fire festival celebrations during the protests.

Qatar University’s Zweiri said whether Iran and the US manage to end the war through a negotiated resolution or engage in a more devastating conflict would play a role in determining if more nationwide protests take place in Iran.

Some Iranians feel that any kind of protest currently could be interpreted as allying with foreign powers.

“The second level of reality is the identity of being Iranian, which means no Iranian wants to be affiliated to an enemy that attacks and destroys the country,” Zweiri said.

“Whether there is a deal or more war in the future will determine how Iran will be developing economically and politically and socially.”