State of Execution
Iranian Regime’s Response to Foreign Attackers is Slaughtering its Own People
https://specialguests.com/iranian-regime-slaughters-citizens-in-war/
As Iran faces mounting external pressure from the United States and Israel, the regime is not turning outward to unify its people—it is turning inward, executing them. This perhaps most clearly demonstrates the repressive and murderous reality of life inside Iran.
NCRI Speakers Available:
Alireza Jafarzadeh: Deputy Director of NCRI
Shahin Gobadi: Member of NCRI Parliament in Exile
Ali Safavi: Member of NCRI Parliament in Exile
Dr. Kazem Kazerounian: Iranian American Engineer
Shirin Nariman: Former Political Prisoner in Iran
Homeira Hesami: Former Political Prisoner in Iran
**Other Speakers, to include former Political Prisoners in Iran available upon request**
- Regime executing citizens to crush dissent, not unify against foreign threats
- IRGC driving arrests, sham trials, and rapid-fire executions
- Dissidents labeled “existential threat” to justify killings
- Internal fear outweighs external war in regime strategy
- Execution surge signals desperation, not strength
In recent days, Tehran has launched a chilling new wave of executions, killing anti-regime activists and sentencing many more to death in rapid succession. According to opposition reporting, at least four dissidents were executed within 48 hours, with additional death sentences looming.
At first glance, this defies logic. Historically, regimes under foreign threat attempt to rally national unity, casting external forces and attackers as the common enemy. But the Iranian regime is doing the opposite—because its greatest threat is not Washington or Jerusalem. It is its own people.
This is the critical insight: the regime views domestic dissent as an existential danger. The memory of nationwide uprisings—most recently in early 2026—still haunts the ruling clerics. Those protests were not isolated outbursts; they were organized, widespread, and explicitly aimed at regime change.
Now, under the cover of war, the regime is accelerating executions to send a message: dissent will be met with death.
Reports indicate that many of those executed were tied to opposition movements or accused—often under torture—of anti-state activities. Trials are rushed, confessions coerced, and families often learn of executions only after the fact. These are not acts of justice; they are acts of political survival.
The role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is central. It is not merely a military force—it is the regime’s enforcement arm, tasked with crushing internal resistance. From mass arrests to militarized streets and coordinated executions, the IRGC operates as the regime’s shield against its own population.
This strategy reveals a regime in profound بحران. It is fighting a war on two fronts: externally against foreign adversaries, and internally against a population that increasingly rejects its rule.
And in that reality lies both danger and opportunity.
The danger is clear: a desperate regime is often at its most brutal. Executions will likely increase, repression will intensify, and the cost to the Iranian people will grow.
But the opportunity is equally clear: regimes that fear their own citizens are regimes on the defensive. The escalation of executions is not a sign of strength—it is a signal of خوف.
For the international community, and for those committed to a free Iran, the message should be unmistakable: this is the moment to amplify pressure, expose the regime’s crimes, and stand with the Iranian people.
Because when a government must kill its own citizens to survive, it has already begun to lose.
Relevant Article(s):
Iranian regime launches execution spree over growing fears of another uprising
UN says Iran is using executions to suppress political dissidents | Fox News
OPTIONAL Q&A:
- Why is the Iranian regime escalating executions at the same time it faces external military pressure from the U.S. and Israel?
- What does this surge in executions reveal about the regime’s fear of internal uprisings and organized dissent?
- How is the IRGC functioning as the regime’s primary tool for suppressing domestic opposition during this period?
- Why does the regime view its own citizens—particularly dissidents—as a greater existential threat than foreign adversaries?
- How are these executions being carried out in terms of due process, forced confessions, and speed of sentencing?
- What message is the regime trying to send to the Iranian people through this wave of executions?
- How should the international community interpret this escalation—does it signal strength or desperation within the regime?
- What role can the NCRI and broader opposition movement play in exposing these executions and mobilizing global response?immediate, practical steps to save those still on death row?
ABOUT ALIREZA JAFARZADEH…
Alireza Jafarzadeh serves as the Deputy Director of the Washington Office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). He is also the author of The Iran Threat (Palgrave MacMillan, New York, 2008).
A recognized expert on Iranian policy, Jafarzadeh has been at the forefront of efforts to prevent the Iranian regime from acquiring nuclear weapons. His groundbreaking work in 2002 and 2003 led to the discovery of key illicit nuclear sites in Iran, including the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, the Arak heavy water plant, the Kalaye Electric centrifuge testing facility near Tehran, and the Lashkar Ab’ad laser enrichment facility. These revelations prompted the first-ever inspections of Iranian nuclear sites by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Jafarzadeh is a frequent guest on major television and radio networks, including CBS Evening News, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, CNBC, Bloomberg TV, and France 24. His insights have also been featured in leading publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Time, and The Hill.
ABOUT SHAHIN GOBADI…
Shahin Gobadi, a U.S.-educated nuclear engineer, is a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Iran’s Parliament-in-Exile.
An astute observer of Iranian affairs for over three decades, Gobadi is an expert on topics including Iranian state-sponsored terrorism, proxy groups in the Middle East, the Iranian nuclear and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs, Western policy toward Iran, and internal Iranian affairs.
He has been interviewed by major international media outlets, including CNN, Fox News, BBC, Sky TV, GB News, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, Reuters, and the Associated Press. Gobadi’s writings have appeared in prominent media across the U.S. and Europe.
ABOUT ALI SAFAVI…
Ali Safavi is a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Iran’s Parliament-in-Exile.
A sociologist by training, Safavi studied and taught at UCLA, California State University Los Angeles, and the University of Michigan. He was an active participant in the anti-Shah student movement in the 1970s in the United States and has been deeply engaged in Iranian affairs ever since.
Safavi has lectured and written extensively on Iran, Iraq, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and Middle Eastern politics. He has appeared in interviews on networks such as CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, CBS, BBC, Sky TV, Newsmax, and France 24. His articles and commentary have been published in leading outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Hill, The Boston Herald, The Washington Times, and The Financial Times.
ABOUT DR. KAZEM KAZEROUNIAN…
Dr. Kazem Kazerounian is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Connecticut and served as Dean of the College of Engineering from 2012 to 2024.
A passionate advocate for democracy and human rights, Dr. Kazerounian is also an expert on Iran and the Middle East, particularly regarding the Iranian nuclear issue, and human rights situation in Iran. He has contributed widely through scholarly articles, invited talks, and media interviews on regional affairs and the democratic movement in Iran.
Nationally, he has held leadership roles with ASEE and ASME, shaping engineering policy and education. His honors include the ASME Mechanisms and Robotics Award, AIMBE Fellowship, and induction into the Connecticut Academy of Science & Engineering.
An ASME Fellow, his research spans kinematics, robotics, and biomechanics. He has authored over 160 scholarly works and co-founded AcademicKeys.com and AcademicJournal.com, a professional platform and an online journal for academics.
ABOUT SHIRIN NARIMAN…
At one point, while Shirin Nariman was a young political prisoner in Iran, she was tortured and buried up to her neck. Today, she is a human rights advocate, and entrepreneur residing in the U.S.
At just 15 years old, during the 1979 Iranian Revolution, she became involved in pro-democracy activities and supported the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI). Less than two years later, she was arrested for her activism—becoming one of the youngest political prisoners of her time and enduring severe torture in Evin Prison. Her case drew international attention and intervention from the Red Cross.
During her imprisonment, Shirin witnessed the regime’s brutality firsthand, including the executions of children, elderly women, and pregnant prisoners. After her release, she eventually sought refuge in the United States, where she has dedicated her life to advocating for human rights, women’s rights, and a free, democratic, non-nuclear Iran.
Shirin holds a bachelor’s degree in management information systems and has worked with leading wireless and financial corporations.
ABOUT HOMEIRA HESAMI…
Homeira Hesami was born in 1966 in Iran. At age 16, she graduated from high school with honors but was denied acceptance to Iranian universities due to her political beliefs and activism. Her activism forced her to spend a significant period of time in prison in Iran as a teenager. She was eventually able to immigrate to the United States, where she pursued her education further, obtaining both her Master’s from The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.
She has remained active in the political scene to help establish a free, democratic, secular, and non-nuclear Iran. Homeira was a member of the Iranian American Women’s Delegation that attended the World Conferences on Women in Beijing in 1995. She has spoken at the University of Virginia to educate students about the current plight of women in Iran. She has also spoken at The National Convention of Iranian Americans in Washington, D.C., as well as the Texas Convention of Iranian Leaders in Houston, TX. She is married with two children, and working as a medical physicist in Irving, Texas.
CONTACT:
Jerry McGlothlin
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