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In the weeks following the end of the 12-day war, the clerical dictatorship has launched an aggressive internal crackdown marked by extrajudicial killings, collective expulsions, and intensified repression—targeting already vulnerable populations across Iran.
On July 18, 2025, four members of a family, including a five-year-old child, were shot and killed by regime forces in Khomain, central Iran. According to the state-run media, guards at a military facility opened fire on two passing vehicles after deeming them “suspicious.” The local governor confirmed that “three people were martyred on the spot and a fourth died the following day.” Witnesses and local reports identified the victims as members of the same family.
The attack came just days after the killing of two young men, Mehdi Abaee and Alireza Karbaschi, near Hamadan on 2 July. They were fatally shot by security forces under similar circumstances. No credible justification for the use of lethal force has been presented in either case.
More footage of the funeral of two Hamedan youth murdered by the Iranian regime's criminal Basij forces. Attendees chant anti-regime slogans.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/KyZo50BPkM
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) July 3, 2025
Violence has also intensified in Iran’s border provinces. On 15 July, Payam Ahmadi, a Kurdish porter and father, was shot dead by border troops near Hanjiran. Just two days later, another fatal shooting targeted a Baluch fuel carrier in Saravan, Sistan and Baluchestan—one of Iran’s most impoverished regions. Both men were part of marginalized communities often forced into dangerous informal work due to systemic unemployment and economic neglect.
In a separate and highly controversial move, the regime has begun mass expulsions of Afghan refugees, many of whom have lived in Iran for years. Authorities have provided no lawful justification beyond vague security claims in the aftermath of the conflict with Israel. On 18 July, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, Mai Sato, condemned the deportations, stating they violate international law and place vulnerable individuals—including women, children, and minorities—at serious risk. Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, echoed these concerns, warning that forced returns to Afghanistan may amount to refoulement, a breach of international humanitarian protections.
Press release: The Islamic Republic of Iran has returned over 1.5 million Afghan nationals in 2025, with returns and forced returns escalating dramatically following the Iran-Israel conflict. Daily returns climbed steeply after 13 June, with average daily returns exceeding 29,600… https://t.co/OBwLcvcoqX
— Mai Sato (@drmaisato.bsky.social) (@drmaisato) July 18, 2025
Meanwhile, inside Iran’s overcrowded prison system, conditions remain dire. On July 7, judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i acknowledged that detainees transferred during the war to facilities such as Fashafuyeh and Qarchak—both criticized for inhumane conditions—would be returned to Evin Prison once limited repairs are completed. His comments followed international scrutiny over the treatment of political and ordinary prisoners.
These developments come amid a backdrop of severe domestic hardship. Inflation remains above 50%, unemployment is endemic, and essential infrastructure continues to fail. In Tehran and other major cities, residents are enduring daily power outages, water rationing, and hazardous air pollution. Officials now recommend citizens install private water tanks and pumps—costly measures that many cannot afford.
For millions of Iranians, the aftermath of the war has brought not recovery, but repression layered atop deepening misery. The shootings, expulsions, and silencing of dissent are not containing the unrest—they are compounding it. In a society already battered by economic hardship and environmental decay, the regime’s crackdown is fueling a volatile atmosphere that is inching steadily toward open revolt.