Tehran steps up threats against critics at home and abroad

Threatening rhetoric on Iranian state television has intensified fears of renewed repression, as presenters and officials warn critics at home and abroad they could face confiscation of property, prison or even death.

“Threatening rhetoric on Iranian state television has intensified fears of renewed repression, as presenters and officials warn critics at home and abroad they could face confiscation of property, prison or even death”

Iran International

On Tuesday, Reza Molaei, a presenter on Iran’s state-run Channel 3, said during a broadcast: "When the dust of sedition settles, we will grab you by the collar."

Iran International

Footage widely shared online showed him going further, referring to an earlier warning from Iran’s prosecutor general and suggesting critics could face deadly consequences so that "their mothers would sit in mourning."

The Office of the Prosecutor General issued a statement warning Iranian citizens abroad they could face severe penalties—including confiscation of assets and even the death penalty—if they engage in what authorities describe as "cooperation with the enemy."

Participants in diaspora rallies fear authorities could identify them through social media posts or demonstration videos and target them or their families inside Iran.

Inside the country, police chief Ahmadreza Radan warned on March 9 that individuals who take to the streets “at the enemy’s behest” would be treated as hostile actors and said: "All our forces have their fingers on the trigger and are ready."

Legal advocacy group Dadban warned that airing such threats on official media could legitimize violence against civilians and "seriously increases the risk of escalating violence against citizens."

The climate of intimidation has extended to Iranian athletes abroad and to protesters in the diaspora.

Several members of Iran’s women’s national football team sought asylum in Australia after declining to sing the national anthem before a match against South Korea, an action that followed the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the February 2026 US–Israeli airstrikes on Tehran by two days.

Iran International

During a television program, presenter Mohammad Reza Shahbazi denounced the players as "traitors in a time of war," accusing them of disrespecting the country and calling for harsh punishment.

Diaspora activists who regularly organize anti-government protests in major cities say the prosecutor’s warning has raised alarm that authorities could identify participants from posts and videos and target them or their families inside Iran.

The threats come two months after the deadly suppression of nationwide protests in January, which left many in Iranian society shaken; some activists say the warnings will not deter them, while others highlight decades of pressure on Iranian citizens both inside and outside the country.

The death of Ali Khamenei in the February 2026 US–Israeli airstrikes on Tehran triggered a rapid and contested succession process.

“Threatening rhetoric on Iranian state television has intensified fears of renewed repression, as presenters and officials warn critics at home and abroad they could face confiscation of property, prison or even death”

Iran International

Within days, Iranian state media announced that the Assembly of Experts had selected his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as the new Supreme Leader, but public information about the process remains sparse and state outlets provided few procedural details; it is unclear whether the assembly gathered physically, voted remotely or decided through emergency consultation.

The article notes the constitutional framework—Articles 5, 107, 109 and 110—defining the office and the Assembly’s responsibility, and it recalls the 1989 precedent when the Assembly chose Ali Khamenei despite his limited clerical standing and revised the constitution to accommodate that decision.

Observers say Mojtaba is not widely recognised within the traditional hierarchy of Shiʿi scholarship, and the article describes his long effort since 2009 to strengthen clerical credentials by teaching dars-e kharej before suspending classes in September 2024 amid succession speculation.

The piece records that Mojtaba has built informal power through Beit-e Rahbari by managing access to the Leader and coordinating with security institutions, that he maintained close ties to the Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Basij, and that the United States Treasury sanctioned him in 2019 for acting on behalf of the Supreme Leader while maintaining those relationships.

The death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a 2024 helicopter crash narrowed the field of likely successors and sharpened attention on Mojtaba’s embedded position inside the leadership networks.

State media and the security establishment have pushed a narrative of continuity while the new leader remains absent from public view.

IRIB and its rolling news channel IRINN emphasized that “The Islamic Republic of Iran is not dependent on a single individual,” and state coverage described Mojtaba’s appointment as reflecting an 85 percent consensus, broadcasting pledges of allegiance from the Revolutionary Guards, the military, the diplomatic corps and even the national football team as evidence of unity.

Iran International

The succession narrative fused with imagery of military strength when IRIB aired footage of missile launches toward Israel under the caption: “At your command, Sayyid Mojtaba,” and senior officials including security chief Ali Larijani and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf rejected calls for a ceasefire and signaled that Iran would continue strikes.

Mojtaba himself has not appeared publicly; the only recording attributed to him is an old short video announcing the cancellation of his religious classes, and state media have circulated older photos, stylized illustrations and AI-generated renderings to fill the visual vacuum.

The article outlines three possible explanations for his absence—delayed unveiling, governing by written statements, or a managed vacuum that could reflect deeper uncertainty or injury—and it warns that wartime succession may leave practical authority concentrated within the Revolutionary Guard Corps while the leadership projects symbolic continuity.

Meanwhile, state coverage has largely excised references to dissent or worsening economic conditions and has presented relatively small pro-government gatherings as signs of broad public enthusiasm.