Tehran says it carried out widespread internal arrests as Israel, US launched huge strikes on the country in June.
Iranian police arrested as many as 21,000 “suspects” during the country’s 12-day conflict with Israel and the United States in June, according to state media citing a law enforcement spokesperson.
Following massive Israeli air strikes that began on June 13, which killed top military officials and scientists as well as hundreds of civilians, Iranian security forces began a campaign of widespread arrests accompanied by an intensified street presence based around checkpoints and “public reports”. The US also carried out extensive strikes on Iranian nuclear sites during the conflict on Israel’s behalf.
Iranian citizens were called upon to report on any individuals they thought were acting suspiciously.
“There was a 41 percent increase in calls by the public, which led to the arrest of 21,000 suspects during the 12-day war,” police spokesperson Saeid Montazerolmahdi said.
He did not say what those arrested were suspected of, but Tehran has spoken before of people passing on information that may have helped direct the Israeli attacks.
Since the end of June, Iran has executed seven men convicted of spying for Israel.
Deportations of Afghans
The Israel-US-Iran conflict has also led to an accelerated rate of deportations for Afghan refugees and migrants believed to be illegally in Iran, with aid agencies reporting that local authorities have also accused some Afghan nationals of spying for Israel.
“Law enforcement rounded up 2,774 illegal migrants and discovered 30 special security cases by examining their phones. [A total] 261 suspects of espionage and 172 people accused of unauthorised filming were also arrested,” the spokesperson added.
Montazerolmahdi did not specify how many of those arrested had since been released.
He added that Iran’s police handled more than 5,700 cases of cybercrimes such as online fraud and unauthorised withdrawals during the war, which he said had turned “cyberspace into an important battlefront”.
