Following the ceasefire agreement with Israel, Iranian authorities have reportedly escalated internal security measures nationwide, including mass arrests, executions, and troop deployments, particularly in the restive Kurdish region, according to officials and activists cited by The Guardian.

Days after Israeli airstrikes commenced on June 13th, Iranian security forces launched a wave of mass arrests and increased their presence on the streets, establishing checkpoints.

Israeli and American politicians, alongside Iranian opposition groups abroad, had hoped that the military campaign by Israel and the US targeting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, internal security forces, and nuclear facilities would ignite a popular uprising and lead to the overthrow of the Islamic Republic, The Guardian notes. However, while many Iranians express dissatisfaction with the government, there have been no signs of significant widespread protests against the authorities.

Nevertheless, a senior Iranian security official and two other high-ranking officials briefed on internal security matters stated that the authorities are focused on the threat of potential domestic unrest, particularly in Kurdish areas.

According to the senior security representative, the IRGC paramilitary units and `Basij` have been placed on high alert, with the primary focus now being internal security.

The official added that the authorities are concerned about Israeli agents, ethnic separatists, and exiled opposition groups.

Activists within the country have gone underground, according to The Guardian. “We are being extremely cautious right now because there is a real concern that the regime could use this situation as a pretext,” said a human rights defender from Tehran who was jailed during the 2022 mass protests. The activist mentioned knowing dozens of people summoned by authorities who were either arrested or warned against any dissent.

The Iranian human rights organization HRNA reported on Monday that since the start of the conflict, it has documented the arrests of 705 individuals on political or security violation charges. Many of those detained were accused of spying for Israel, HRNA stated. Iranian state media announced that three of them were executed on Tuesday in Urmia, near the Turkish border, while the Iranian-Kurdish human rights group Hengaw claimed all three were Kurds.

One security-briefed official mentioned that troops have been stationed along the borders with Pakistan, Iraq, and Azerbaijan to prevent the infiltration of individuals the official referred to as terrorists. Another security-briefed official confirmed that hundreds of people have been arrested.