Espionage threats blur lines between security and dissent in Iran
Iran is using the threat of spy networks to detain and execute political opponents, analysts say.
While two wars on Iran by the United States and Israel have exposed serious vulnerabilities in Iran’s intelligence and security institutions, Iran is using the threat to crack down on dissent, analysts have said.
Saeid Golkar, an associate professor in political science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, said the genuine espionage threats faced by Iran were illustrated by the killing of high-level figures, including former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the latest assault by Israel and the US on February 28.
“At the same time, the regime has historically used real or, most of the time, perceived security threats to justify political repression and expand its coercive apparatus,” Golkar told Al Jazeera.
Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence said in May that “enemies” were combining espionage, sabotage, hostile media, exploitation of economic crises and fuelling ethnic and sectarian tensions as part of a “hybrid war”.