LAGOS, Nigeria (Voice of Naija) Iran has intensified its crackdown on political opponents, seizing assets belonging to 240 dissidents, freezing 182 bank accounts and confirming that more than 6,000 people have been arrested.
The latest figures, reported by Euronews on September 14, offer a fresh picture of the scale of the government’s response to the unrest.
Iran’s judiciary-affiliated Mizan news agency said property belonging to 240 people had been confiscated, while 182 bank accounts were frozen.
Police Chief Ahmadreza Radan separately announced that more than 6,000 people had been arrested over the protests.
According to Mizan, 143 of the asset seizures took place in Tehran; those targeted were accused of carrying out what authorities described as propaganda or activities against Iran and in favour of “hostile governments.”
The allegations have been levelled against journalists, activists and public figures, including people living outside Iran.
Some of the confiscated assets reportedly belonged to journalists working for Persian-language opposition broadcasters Iran International and Manoto.
Iranian authorities have long accused such foreign-based outlets of supporting efforts to undermine the Islamic Republic, allegations the outlets and their supporters reject.
The judiciary has also reportedly made more than 2,000 inquiries to Iran’s Central Bank concerning the financial accounts of defendants.
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Mizan said further confiscations and legal proceedings could follow, suggesting that the campaign against opponents is not limited to those already targeted.
One case highlighted in the reports involves entrepreneur Sadegh Saeedi-nia, whose property was confiscated and who received a prison sentence in a case involving opposition to the government.
The case is among several proceedings in which authorities have combined criminal charges with financial penalties and property seizures.
The latest crackdown is closely linked to the nationwide protests that erupted in December 2025 and continued into January 2026.
The demonstrations spread across large parts of Iran amid public anger over economic conditions and other grievances.
Iranian authorities have characterised the unrest as a security threat and have repeatedly accused protesters and opposition groups of working with foreign powers.
Radan said security forces had also arrested three alleged members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, commonly known as the MEK, an exiled opposition group that seeks to overthrow Iran’s government.
The police chief claimed the organisation had played a role in what Iranian authorities describe as an attempted coup.
“We will not forget the rioters and coup plotters,” Radan said, according to Euronews, adding that security forces would continue monitoring and taking action against those authorities believe were involved in the unrest.
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The arrests and property seizures have been accompanied by a sharp increase in executions; Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based monitoring organisation, recorded at least 532 executions between January 1 and August 31, 2026.
The organisation said the figure included people convicted on murder and drug-related charges as well as individuals prosecuted under national-security laws.
It also recorded 29 people among those executed who had been arrested in connection with the January protests.
Human Rights Watch has separately documented at least 29 protest-related executions between March 18 and the end of August.
It said several of those executed were teenagers aged 18 or 19 and argued that many cases involved vague national-security charges and proceedings that failed to meet international standards for a fair trial.
The rights organisation said the executions represented an unlawful campaign intended to intimidate protesters and political opponents.
It also warned that scores of other detainees remained at risk of execution.
The pace of executions has drawn growing international concern, particularly because many of those convicted were accused of offences such as damaging public property, blocking roads or allegedly cooperating with foreign governments.
Human Rights Watch said such conduct does not meet the international-law threshold for crimes for which the death penalty may lawfully be imposed.
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Iranian authorities, however, maintain that those being prosecuted pose serious security threats to the country.
The government has repeatedly linked the protests to foreign interference and organisations seeking to destabilise the Islamic Republic.
The crackdown is unfolding against the backdrop of Iran’s wider confrontation with the United States and Israel, which has intensified the government’s focus on internal security.
Iranian officials have increasingly portrayed dissent, opposition media and suspected foreign collaboration as interconnected threats.
For the government, the arrests, asset seizures and executions serve both a legal and political purpose: authorities say they are pursuing people responsible for unrest and national-security offences, while critics argue the measures are being used to silence political opposition and discourage further protests.
The latest figures underline the depth of the confrontation between Iran’s government and its opponents. With more than 6,000 arrests reported, hundreds of properties targeted and more than 500 executions recorded this year, pressure on Iranian civil society has continued to intensify.
Human rights organisations are calling for greater international scrutiny, particularly over cases involving protesters sentenced under national-security laws.
The central question now is whether the Iranian government’s continued use of arrests, prosecutions, asset confiscation and executions will suppress dissent or deepen the grievances that helped drive the protests in the first place.
