Worrying pressure on women, Christians and media workers

“Sometimes our talkativeness, negligence, and impatience have historic consequences.”

This seemingly insignificant statement by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was a clear warning to the press and opposition figures across the country. It was followed by verdicts without a defence hearing, executions, imprisonment, and torture.

The Iranian leadership had attempted to keep nuclear negotiations with the US strictly secret. However, this attempt failed when US President Donald Trump made the negotiations public. The revelation triggered considerable domestic political pressure, as Ali Khamenei had previously categorically ruled out any kind of dialogue with the US. As a result, the authorities cracked down on journalists who wanted to report on the negotiations. Several people were summoned, intimidated, or threatened with prosecution. Following the devastating explosion at a chemical storage facility in the Shahid Rajee port on April 26, 2025, which killed more than 70 people and injured over 1,200, the regime took action against journalists who did not follow the regime-prescribed narrative of the accident, accusing them of “spreading false information.”

At the same time, pressure on women who oppose forced veiling continued to increase. Using surveillance cameras and mobile phone data, authorities specifically identify women without headscarves and send automated threats of punishment. The government under President Massoud Peseschkian continues to deny any systematic surveillance, despite numerous pieces of evidence to the contrary.

The situation of Christian converts in Iran also remains extremely worrying. Judicial authorities regularly rely on vaguely worded charges such as “propaganda activities” or “endangering national security” to impose long prison sentences on peacefully practising believers. The ISHR was notified of nine convictions of converts in April. Examples include Mehran Shamlouei, Abbas Souri, and Narges Nasri, who were sentenced to eight and ten years in prison, respectively, and a two-year travel ban on charges of “propaganda activities contrary to Islamic Sharia.”

The ISHR reports monthly on the current human rights situation in Iran, encourages members of parliament to sponsor political prisoners, and engages in public campaigns against executions, the oppression of women and religious minorities, and against the compulsory wearing of the headscarf.