By Gloria Ogbonna
Residents of Iran’s capital, Tehran, say the city is effectively operating under a state of “virtual martial law” following last week’s brutal crackdown on anti-regime protesters, with armed security forces dominating streets that are now largely deserted, according to accounts given to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).
Multiple residents told RFE/RL on Monday that the atmosphere in Tehran has shifted dramatically, especially after nightfall, as the regime deploys military, paramilitary, and plainclothes units to assert total control over the population.
While no formal curfew has been announced, the level of surveillance and intimidation has created what many describe as a de facto lockdown.
“The feeling of martial law is completely in place at night,” said one Tehran resident who fled the city days before speaking with RFE/RL.
“One of the reasons for that is that the armed forces randomly stop cars. They check the entire car and also mobile phones. They ask people to unlock their phones.”
According to the source, security forces routinely inspect civilians’ phones, combing through social media accounts, private messages, and photo galleries in search of any evidence linking individuals to recent protests.
“They are checking citizens’ activities on social media as well as their phone photo galleries looking for proof of participation in demonstrations,” the resident said.
The streets of Tehran are now saturated with regime security forces, including members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), regular police units, and the notorious Basij militia widely feared for their role in suppressing dissent.
Residents report that plainclothes operatives are also actively involved, moving through neighborhoods and forcing their way into residential buildings to hunt down suspected protesters.
The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that Tehran residents described Basij squads roaming the streets on motorcycles, using bullhorns to issue threats such as, “Don’t come out! We’ll shoot you!” In some neighborhoods, police have reportedly ordered civilians to stay away from windows, apparently to prevent residents from chanting anti-regime slogans from inside their apartments.
This climate of fear has pushed many Tehran residents into what amounts to a self-imposed curfew, with streets emptying almost completely after dark.
“The presence of military and security forces across these cities is so conspicuous that people are talking about a kind of military rule,” said Kaveh Kermanshahi, an activist with the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, in comments to RFE/RL.
“It’s not that ordinary people are formally banned from moving around, but all movement happens under heavy surveillance and control.”
Reports of extreme security measures are not limited to Tehran. Several other cities particularly in western Iran have also seen an influx of heavily armed forces.
According to human rights monitors, the regime has bolstered its crackdown by recruiting mercenaries from Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, fighters who are believed to be even more willing than domestic forces to use lethal violence against Iranian civilians.
The Jerusalem Post reported Tuesday that the regime has effectively paralyzed public life in Tehran. “Universities remain closed to prevent student gatherings.
A majority of shops and shopping centers are shuttered. Armed security forces dominate city centers. Public gatherings are dispersed within minutes,” the report said.
Despite the regime’s near-total control of information through widespread internet blackouts, some Iranians have managed to communicate with the outside world. One such resident described the situation in stark terms: “We are hostages inside our own country. We don’t know what is happening in the next street, let alone the next city.”
Iranian officials have acknowledged that at least 5,000 people were killed during the suppression of the protests a figure that aligns with some human rights organizations’ estimates. Other groups, however, believe the true death toll may be significantly higher.
Thousands more have been arrested, and activists warn that many detainees could face execution as the regime seeks to reassert control through fear and violence.
As the crackdown continues, residents say Tehran remains trapped in a tense limbo quiet on the surface, but saturated with armed force, surveillance, and the constant threat of deadly repression.
Source Breitbart
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