Persecution of dissidents in Iran

Israel and Gaza are not the only sufferers from death and destruction in the greater Middle East. Yashar Ali just wrote about the persecution of dissidents in Iran at the hands of the regime:

The Islamic regime in Iran has executed 105 people so far this month, with many more slated to be executed in the coming weeks, per the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) and the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran.

In a press release, the CHRI said that “scores of political prisoners will be executed in Iran without an international outcry.”

This comes amid a massive crackdown in the aftermath of the 12-day war, a brief but extraordinarily intense conflict between Israel and Iran. Israel initiated it with widespread airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure. The Islamic Republic responded with missile and drone attacks. Over 1,000 Iranians were killed (at least 436 were civilians, according to the well-respected Human Rights Activists News Agency), and nearly 5,000 were injured. Twenty-seven Israeli civilians were killed, and thousands were hospitalized, according to the Times of Israel.

Later, when the United States joined Israel in bombing by launching short but significant attacks on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear facilities, Iranian activists and dissidents warned of severe consequences.

After the regime faces global humiliation and, as a result, is unsteady, it often turns its aggression toward Iranians in order to shut down dissent and tighten its grip on the country.

Their warnings came true. Thousands have been arrested by Islamic Republic of Iran intelligence officials (some have since been released, but many remain in custody).