ژورنال سایت خبری سیاسی ژورنال
English Journal is published on Fridays
PDF-English Journal-15 August 2025-No27
State media, citing Saeed Montazer-al-Mahdi, spokesperson for the Islamic Republic’s police, reported that 21,000 people were arrested during the 12-day war with Israel.
It is obvious that official figures are always shaped by the regime’s political needs and are almost never wholly reliable. Previously, the head of the judiciary had spoken of more than 2,000 arrests related to the war.
Whether either number is true is a question for the regime’s liars. The point is that the authorities want to project total control, claiming to suppress protests and punish opponents. Another aim is to link any dissent to espionage or collaboration with hostile states, imposing the harshest penalties for such charges. The regime seeks to connect every protest over social, political or cultural grievances to foreign enemies, instilling even greater fear.
The goal is to quell widespread unrest over economic and social issues — price hikes, water and power cuts — by invoking “identified spies” and similar nonsense. Whether the numbers are fake or real is irrelevant; they are purely for show.
These statistics have almost no deterrent effect on people’s struggles. In Iran, resistance takes many forms — from individual acts on social media to organised action by numerous unions, political groups and civil rights organisations.
In terms of organisation, Iranian social media activism is world-leading. Various associations, collectives and networks coordinate their activities online. Strikes and street protests are organised through social media, sharply amplifying anti-regime sentiment.
We should use social media — this sworn enemy of the Islamic Republic — to its fullest extent, in every possible dimension, to drive the regime entirely from this arena of struggle.
Editor: Patty Debonitas
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