Iran deepens crackdown following mass protests

Iran arrested a prominent reformist, local media reported on Monday (Feb 9), deepening a crackdown on dissent following mass protests that posed one of the greatest challenges to the Islamic Republic since its inception.

The arrest of Javad Emam, the spokesperson for the main reformist coalition, came days after Iranian and US officials held talks in Oman that both sides painted as positive.

The United States had threatened military action against Iran during the peak of the protest movement that swept the nation earlier this year, which saw authorities launch a deadly crackdown to quell dissent.

President Donald Trump later said he believed Iran would be open to a deal, and there was no immediate indication that the two sides discussed the protests during Friday’s Omani-mediated talks.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the military, arrested Emam, the spokesperson for the Reformist Front coalition, local media reported on Monday.

Emam was at least the fourth Reformist Front figure to be arrested, and his arrest came alongside those of several activists and filmmakers for co-signing a statement critical of authorities.

Iran has branded the protests as riots fuelled by its arch-foes Israel and the United States, and on Monday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on the nation to show “resolve” against foreign pressure.

“National power is less about missiles and aircraft and more about the will and resolve of the people,” Khamenei said, adding: “Show it again and frustrate the enemy.”

At the talks in Oman, the US and Iran had agreed to discuss Tehran’s nuclear programme, though Washington and Israel also want to put the Islamic republic’s ballistic missiles and its support for regional militant groups on the agenda.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes but Western powers and Israel believe it is seeking a nuclear weapon.

On Sunday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran could envision “a series of confidence-building measures concerning the nuclear programme” in exchange for the United States lifting sanctions on the country.

But Araghchi insisted on Iran’s right to continue enriching uranium.

Meanwhile, the secretary of Iran’s top security body, Ali Larijani, said he will visit Oman on Tuesday for meetings with Omani authorities.

“PROPAGANDA”

With the US giving no indication that the protest crackdown is still a potential issue in the negotiations, Iranian authorities appear to be tightening their grip.

On Saturday, Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi was sentenced to six years in prison on charges of harming national security and was also given a one-and-a-half-year prison sentence for “propaganda” against Iran’s Islamic system, her foundation said in a statement.

Mohammadi was arrested in December before nationwide protests erupted later that month.

Already incarcerated for much of the past decade as a result of her campaigning against Iran’s use of capital punishment and mandatory dress code for women, she now faces 17 more years behind bars with the addition of these new sentences.

She also faces 154 lashes carried over from previous sentencing.

The arrest of Reformist Front spokesman Emam follows those on Sunday of three other figures, including Azar Mansouri, who has led the coalition since 2023.

She served as an adviser to former reformist president Mohammad Khatami.

After the start of the most recent protest movement in December, initially triggered by economic stagnation, she expressed support for the demonstrators.

Authorities also arrested Ebrahim Asgharzadeh, a former member of parliament, and Mohsen Aminzadeh, a former foreign affairs official.

THOUSANDS KILLED

The reformist camp largely backed incumbent president Massoud Pezeshkian in the 2024 presidential election.

Several prominent activists have also been arrested in recent days for their contribution to the statement critical of the authorities that was written in the wake of the January crackdown.

Filmmaker Mehdi Mahmoudian, co-screenwriter of the film It Was Just an Accident - winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2025 - is among them.

The authorities in Iran have acknowledged that 3,117 people were killed in the protests, publishing on Sunday a list of 2,986 names, most of whom they say were members of the security forces and innocent bystanders.

International organisations have put the toll far higher.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says it has verified 6,961 deaths, mostly protesters, and has another 11,630 cases under investigation.

It has also counted more than 51,000 arrests.

Source: AFP

- Agencies