|
Trending Topics
|
Iran's Generals Tighten Grip on Country after Israeli Strikes
(Telegraph-UK) Afshin Madadi - The Islamic Republic has launched its most aggressive domestic security crackdown in years, following the Iran-Israel war. Military checkpoints have turned Tehran into something resembling Baghdad or Damascus. Tehran resident Javad, 36, said, "The regime is now far more brutal than it was before the war. They arrest random people in neighborhoods and detain them for days - not because they've committed a crime, but to intimidate the local population." Abdollah Shahbazi, a former intelligence officer, said, "High and mid-level officials are in a situation similar to members of underground guerrilla groups in their own country. They must change safe houses every night and distance themselves from communication devices like mobile phones for fear of assassination." He said it has become clear that "an active force from Mossad's Iranian network is operating on the ground." Since mid-June, authorities have detained hundreds of people, accusing them of spying for Israel's Mossad intelligence service or assisting Israeli strikes. At least six executions have taken place. On Thursday, Iranian armed forces killed four members of a family after opening fire on vehicles they thought were "suspicious" near a military base in central Iran. Iranian media reported that the victims included a young couple and their five-year-old daughter. Two other family members remain in critical condition. The shooting sparked a backlash on social media, with Iranians saying the regime is "taking revenge on its own people after losing the war to Israel."