Iranian authorities are targeting the families of political dissidents living in exile, using arrests and property seizures as weapons to silence criticism from abroad, according to multiple activists who spoke with news outlets.
These intimidation tactics represent an escalation in Iran’s suppression of opposition voices as ongoing regional conflicts continue. Activists living overseas have become crucial sources for documenting government crackdowns, especially since internet blackouts during widespread anti-government demonstrations made internal reporting difficult.
Hossein Razzagh, a former political prisoner now residing in Europe, learned that intelligence officers arrested his brother Ali on March 15 from their family home in Tehran. “My own brother isn’t at all political and doesn’t do any kind of political activity. It’s to put me under pressure,” Razzagh explained.
Ali was able to make a brief phone call to his wife that evening from an Intelligence Ministry detention facility, but the family has had no contact since. Officials told them they were investigating Ali’s communications with his exiled brother.
Similar incidents have affected other activists’ families. Behnam Chegini, now based in France, reported that his 20-year-old niece was arrested March 10 and held for one week. She was taken from her parents’ residence in Arak after returning from Tehran when her university closed due to the war. The young woman was eventually freed on bail but cannot leave the country.
“Because she is my niece and they know that,” Chegini said, explaining the motivation behind her detention.
Sareh Sedighi, who fled Iran after successfully appealing a death sentence in 2021, said authorities detained her mother from their home in Urmia last month. “The Islamic Republic took my mother away to make me be quiet,” Sedighi stated, adding that her mother has serious health conditions requiring daily insulin.
Mahshid Nazemi, a former political prisoner now living in France, reported that at least one friend was arrested and interrogated about their relationship.
Beyond family arrests, Iranian courts have begun seizing assets belonging to prominent critics under anti-espionage legislation passed during last year’s 12-day conflict with Israel. This law targets media and cultural activities considered supportive of Iran’s adversaries.
A judicial spokesperson announced on state television March 31 that more than 200 asset forfeiture cases have been filed or are in progress.
Iranian actor Borzou Arjmand, living in California, discovered through news coverage that his Iranian assets had been confiscated. Following his public support for 2022 protests, Arjmand became unable to return home, and authorities froze his bank accounts. He has publicly backed Reza Pahlavi, the former shah’s son who leads an opposition movement from abroad and has supported American-Israeli military actions.
The pressure on exiled figures aims to ensure “so the Iranian people’s voice doesn’t reach the world,” Arjmand said.
Other prominent figures facing asset seizures include soccer star Sardar Azmoun, musician Mohsen Yeghaneh, and university professor Ali Sharifi Zarchi, according to Iranian semi-official news sources. Both Yeghaneh and Zarchi have publicly supported anti-government demonstrators online.
Iranian security and court officials have issued warnings that any future anti-government demonstrations will face deadly force.
Government media frequently announce arrests nationwide, labeling detainees as “mercenaries” or “agents” working for Israel and America, “royalist thugs,” or “traitorous elements.” Some reports claim arrestees provided intelligence to “hostile networks.”
Iran Human Rights, a monitoring organization based in Norway, has documented several hundred arrests since the current conflict began February 28, using contacts within Iran and official media reports. Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghhaddam believes the actual numbers are significantly higher.
Among recent detainees is prominent human rights attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh, taken from her Tehran residence by intelligence agents, according to her daughter Mehraveh Khandan who lives in Amsterdam. The 64-year-old Sotoudeh had been released on medical bail following an earlier imprisonment.
Court operations remain unclear as Israeli airstrikes have hit judicial buildings. “It’s like they are half-closed. A lot of judges are staying home,” explained Musa Barzin, an attorney with Dadban, an organization of rights lawyers operating from abroad.
Prison conditions are reportedly worsening due to overcrowding. From Tehran, the wife of a political prisoner held at Evin Prison expressed fears about potential strikes on the facility, as occurred during last year’s conflict.
“Explosions and smoke can be heard and seen from everywhere in the city. Every time we hear a sound, we get scared,” she said, requesting anonymity for her family’s protection.
These circumstances have sparked fresh efforts to unite Iran’s fragmented overseas opposition movement.
Before the current conflict began, Razzagh and colleagues started organizing the Iran Freedom Congress in London, bringing together pro-democracy organizations. Razzagh spoke for a coalition of Iran-based opposition figures including Sotoudeh and imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi.
He described the conference as an initial step toward building a coalition focused on achieving “political transition” in Iran.
For generations, Iranian leadership has crushed organized political resistance. Diaspora activists say the ongoing war has intensified this suppression.
“Israel and America are saying, well, if the Islamic Republic doesn’t kill you, let us bomb you. They’ve been taken hostage from both sides,” Nazemi said regarding Iranians still in the country.
