Potential US targets in Iran extend beyond Pickaxe Mountain - WSJ

Nima Rezaei, known online as Nima Takido, has more than 935,000 YouTube subscribers and 1.5 million Instagram followers.

Iranian media reported that 5,000 free tickets had been issued for scheduled sessions at Iran Mall. Organizers were reportedly caught off guard when tens of thousands more arrived without reservations.

Teenagers traveled from several provinces and waited for hours for a chance to see him. Videos showed crowds filling the venue, turning what was intended to be a controlled fan event into a mass gathering.

The event was eventually cut short after the crowd overwhelmed the venue. Takido injured his leg in the crush and was taken for treatment.

Some Iranian reports also said his phone and wallet went missing and that security forces were called to help control the gathering.

The scenes highlighted the emergence of a parallel celebrity culture among Iran’s younger generation—one with its own stars, humor, language and communities, largely separate from television, cinema and other traditional routes to fame.

Many older Iranians had never heard Takido’s name. Yet to his young followers, he is a familiar figure whose videos and online presence have created a sense of connection built over years.

That divide is not unique to Iran. Online creators have become major cultural figures for teenagers around the world, often attracting crowds once associated mainly with film stars, musicians or athletes.

In September 2025, thousands crowded into New Jersey’s American Dream mall for an appearance by teenage YouTuber Salish Matter. The turnout overwhelmed organizers and prompted complaints about unsafe conditions and poor planning.

Takido’s event showed that the same global fan culture has taken root among young Iranians, even as they remain relatively isolated from international entertainment markets.

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Unlike traditional celebrities, online creators speak directly to their audiences, share parts of their daily lives and build communities through repeated, informal interactions. For young followers, that can make them feel more familiar and accessible than figures promoted through official media.

Takido belongs to a wider Persian-language creator ecosystem that includes Farshad Silent, Aria Rahmati, Pouria Putak, Nivad, KamTalam, Mia Plays and the Kouman team.

Some live outside Iran, while others produce content that rarely appears in state-controlled media. Their influence nevertheless crosses borders and reaches large audiences inside the country.

YouTube remains blocked in Iran, and users commonly rely on circumvention tools to access it. But the restriction was secondary to what the gathering revealed: a generation forming its cultural tastes and identities in spaces largely beyond the reach of traditional institutions.

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“The bombs are making noise and the world is looking at Iran, but what about the silence that is killing innocent people every day?” Azadeh Afsahi, founder of Iran House, told Iran International’s Eye for Iran podcast.

Rights groups say the war did not create the crackdown but has provided political cover for the Islamic Republic to fast-track death sentences, conceal executions from families and intimidate a population already traumatized by the violent suppression of nationwide protests in January.

Accelerated executions raise alarm

Rights groups estimate that around 100 political prisoners and protesters have received death sentences, while hundreds more face capital charges. More than 70 people are awaiting execution in Dastgerd Prison in the central city of Isfahan, according to Iran Human Rights.

Iran Human Rights says at least 24 people have been executed in connection with the January protests since March 19, most recently Mehdi Khaneki, a 26-year-old law graduate who was put to death on July 22.

Others have been executed over alleged ties to banned opposition groups or on espionage charges.

Those facing execution include people arrested following protests in Isfahan on January 8.

Iran executed Erfan Esfandiari, reportedly 18, and Gol Mohammad Mohammadi, a 23-year-old Afghan national, on July 19. Iranian authorities accused them of involvement in the deaths of four members of the security forces.

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Rights groups say the defendants were denied fair trials and access to independent legal representation. Ten other men prosecuted in the same case remain at risk of execution, according to UN investigators.

The UN Human Rights Council-mandated fact-finding mission called on Tehran on Thursday to halt the executions immediately. It said relatives of at least two prisoners had been summoned for what appeared to be final visits, raising fears that further executions could be imminent.

The mission also raised alarm over efforts to expedite protest-related proceedings. It noted that Tehran prosecutor Ali Salehi announced on July 15 that cases connected to the protests and recent hostilities had been finalized and referred to court following an order from judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i to accelerate proceedings.

ARTICLE 19, citing figures compiled by Hengaw, said Iran executed 109 people in June, including three women—a 10% increase from the same month last year. Only seven of those executions were officially announced, while at least 12 families received no advance notice, according to the organization.

The lack of warning has left some relatives learning about executions through official media.

According to AFP, the family of Vahid Baniamerian, a 34-year-old physics lecturer, received no warning before his execution. A relative said they were still awaiting a Supreme Court review when reports of his imminent execution began appearing in state media.

Baniamerian was executed alongside five other men convicted of alleged membership in the outlawed People’s Mujahedin Organization.

The executions also drew a response from US President Donald Trump, who wrote “Savages!!!” while reposting an image and account of Mohammadi’s execution. He also shared posts about Esfandiari.

Trump had previously warned Tehran against executing protesters. During the January 2026 uprising, he said the United States would take “very strong action” if authorities carried out hangings and told Iranians that “help is on its way.”

Human rights advocates, however, say public condemnation has not been matched by sufficient action.

Fear of another uprising

Shahin Milani, executive director of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, said the regime views internal rebellion as a greater threat to its survival than the prospect of a large-scale foreign invasion.

He said the Islamic Republic may fear its own population more than US military action. “The most serious threat that they face is from internal rebellion. This is from Iranian people bringing the regime down.”

Milani said the severity of the January crackdown demonstrated how seriously the authorities viewed that threat.

“They set a new standard in their own regime for brutality,” he said.

The executions, Milani argued, are intended both to frighten the wider population and demonstrate strength to regime supporters who might otherwise consider defecting.

He said they may delay further unrest but cannot resolve the economic hardship and political discontent driving opposition to the government.

“You cannot kill your way out of economic misery and discontent,” he said, predicting renewed demonstrations could emerge within months or years.

Afsahi said the crackdown has deepened depression and trauma among survivors and victims’ families, while international attention remains concentrated on the military conflict.

“Everybody cares about the bombs, but nobody cares about the hanging that is happening every day,” she said.

Despite that trauma, Afsahi said many survivors remain prepared to protest again.

“They’re just waiting,” she said. “They’re ready for that next ignition to be able to go out again.”

Brandon Silver, an international human rights lawyer and director at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, said the executions should be viewed within the broader context of Iran’s record of domestic repression.

He pointed to the country’s high rates of executions, executions of people convicted of crimes allegedly committed as children, state hostage-taking and imprisonment of journalists.

“There is an effort to obfuscate, to hide these staggering statistics,” Silver said, describing the executions as part of “an ongoing campaign of mass domestic repression.”

He argued that abuses inside Iran have repeatedly spilled beyond its borders through hostage-taking and alleged plots targeting journalists, dissidents and human rights advocates abroad.

“When they’re able to carry this out within Iran, it puts all of us everywhere in danger,” he said.

Silver called on governments to move beyond statements by expelling officials involved in repression, imposing visa bans and freezing and seizing the foreign assets of regime figures. Those assets, he proposed, should be redirected to victims of the Islamic Republic.

Iranian prisoners have also begun challenging the execution campaign from inside the country. About 1,500 prisoners sentenced to death for drug-related offenses in Unit 2 of Ghezel Hesar Prison have staged a hunger strike and sit-in since July 13. The protest began after six inmates were transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for execution.

The protest has added a rare form of resistance from inside Iran’s prisons to the growing international campaign against the executions, according to the advocates interviewed by Eye for Iran.

They said the executions may demonstrate the regime’s capacity for repression, but they also reveal its fear that the anger driving Iran’s protest movement remains unresolved.

The war may have pushed that movement out of the headlines. It has not, they warned, eliminated it.

The newspaper said the operation was centered on Unit 700, a logistics and smuggling arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force that Britain sanctioned in 2024 for facilitating activities intended to destabilize the UK and other countries.

According to the report, an Iranian official described Britain's support for US military operations against Iran as making it a target, telling the newspaper: "Our armed forces' message was very clear yesterday - stay away from the carnage."

The official also said: "At the moment we have people right there in London ... They wait for us to tell them what to do," adding that Tehran could "easily make London unsafe" and that "we do not need a missile to target London. It's easier than that."

A second unnamed Iranian official went further, saying Iran had people in Britain who could "even target their prime minister's house" if Tehran chose to do so, according to the newspaper.

Smuggling network

The Telegraph said two people smugglers familiar with routes into Europe told the newspaper that parts of the network were controlled by the Iranian government.

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  UK outlaws support for IRGC under new national security powers

One smuggler was quoted as saying that "some legs of the network" used to move migrants into Europe "are actually owned by the government," while another said controlling a route meant "you can do what you like."

The report said the routes, originally established to move weapons, money and supplies to Iran-backed groups in the Middle East, were also being used to move migrants into Europe, including Britain.

Security experts skeptical

The newspaper said British security experts questioned whether Iran had the capability to establish long-term covert networks in Britain.

It quoted Lynette Nusbacher, a former senior adviser to the Cabinet Office on security matters, as saying Iran lacked the "strategic patience" to plant genuine covert agents in Britain, while Kristian Gustafson of Brunel University said Tehran's objective could instead be to create enough fear to weaken British support for US operations.

The survey by the Iranian Students Polling Agency (ISPA), conducted between June 15 and June 21, found that 46.1% of internet users said the shutdown of international internet access made them "very" or "to a great extent" angry and frustrated. Another 47.1% said it caused little or no anger.

The poll found that 89.3% of Iranians aged 15 and older use the internet.

Among users, 38.8% said losing access to the global internet created serious difficulties communicating with friends and family, while 33.6% said the main impact was on entertainment, including watching videos and listening to music.

Almost one-third, or 29.6%, said their work and income would have been completely disrupted if international internet access had not been restored, underscoring the reliance of many Iranians on online connectivity for their livelihoods.

The survey also suggested the restrictions did not drive most users to state media. During the outage, 39.2% said they followed news through state television, while 21.3% relied on domestic social media platforms such as Baleh and Eitaa and 14.5% turned to satellite television channels.

The findings also highlighted widespread dissatisfaction with internet services. Some 72.3% of users said they were little or not at all satisfied with internet speed, while 56.9% said increasing internet speeds would be their top policy priority. Another 21.5% said reducing internet filtering should be the priority.

The survey found 61.1% opposed unrestricted, unfiltered internet access for government officials, while 24.6% supported such access.

The communications ministry has estimated the internet shutdown cost Iran's economy about 5 trillion rials ($58 million at the official exchange rate) a day, according to the report. The survey also found that 58% of respondents viewed internet-based businesses as a key driver of job creation.

The survey was conducted on behalf of the communications ministry among a sample of 4,545 people.

The debate has grown louder as speculation mounts over whether the conflict could eventually require American ground forces, despite repeated White House assurances that no such deployment is planned.

Speaking to Iran International, Senator Ted Cruz called Trump's military campaign "the most consequential decision of his presidency" but said he did not expect a prolonged deployment of US ground troops.

"I do not believe there is any possibility that the president will send boots on the ground for any sustained involvement," he said. "There might be ... a limited involvement."

Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville likewise argued that decisions over troop deployments should rest entirely with Trump.

"We've got a commander in chief. He got 80 million votes," Tuberville told Iran International. "He should be able to do what's right for the country."

Asked whether he would support sending troops into Iran, Tuberville said the decision was "up to him."

Democrats challenge legality

Democratic Senator Tim Kaine argued that the administration had already exceeded its constitutional authority.

"The president is in the middle of an illegal war," Kaine told Iran International. "He violated the Constitution by starting war without Congress."

Kaine also said Trump had violated the War Powers Resolution by continuing military operations beyond the statutory deadline without congressional authorization.

"He is triply violating the law," Kaine said, adding that "Congress needs to stop this war."

The exchange highlighted a widening divide on Capitol Hill, where Republicans argue the campaign is necessary to restore deterrence and Democrats counter that any deployment of US ground troops requires explicit congressional authorization.

The Senate this week voted narrowly against advancing legislation that would have required congressional authorization for continued hostilities, leaving Trump with broad operational freedom even as the political debate over the next phase of the conflict intensifies.

The debate has sharpened as the conflict enters a more dangerous phase.

Trump said this week he was considering a "massive attack" against Iran larger than previous operations while insisting no final decision had been made. The White House has continued to maintain that it has no plans to deploy US ground troops.

Iran has responded with threats of its own.

On Friday, Major General Abdolrahim Abdollahi, commander of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, declared that Iran would kill one American service member for every Iranian citizen killed in US attacks.

"The rule ... is now a definitive and officially declared equation of the battlefield," he said.