Iran International
Clothes, diaries, books and childhood dolls are being taken from the bedrooms of protesters killed in Iran, as security forces extend pressure on families seeking accountability into the most private spaces of their grief nearly nine months after the January 2026 killings.
“Seven plainclothes men entered our home and began searching different parts of it,” the father of a slain teenage girl told Iran International.
“They went into our daughter’s room and put some of her personal belongings, including clothes, diaries, books and even two of her dolls, into a bag and took them away.”
Security forces have raided the homes of at least five families in the past two weeks and removed belongings of their slain relatives, informed sources told Iran International. Three of those killed were under 18.
The raids, sources said, targeted families active on social media and were intended to stop them keeping the memory of their children publicly alive.
The mother of the teenage girl had previously posted videos showing objects left behind in her daughter’s room as she mourned her death.
The latest raids take the pressure on bereaved families beyond summonses, arrests and restrictions on memorials. They reach into rooms left behind by the dead and the objects through which their parents continue to remember them.
‘Nothing will remain in your child’s room’
For another family, the message was explicit.
Security forces searched their home and took a watch and clothes their child was wearing when killed, the mother told. The officers then warned the parents against publishing more photographs or videos online.
“They threatened us that if we published another photo or video on the internet, nothing would remain in our child’s room,” she said.
The officers followed that warning with another, according to the mother.
“They told us, ‘A thief might come to your home one night, and in the morning you might find an empty room.’”
For months, families seeking accountability have faced restrictions on funerals, memorial ceremonies and birthday commemorations, according to information provided to Iran International.
Gravestones have been damaged at night, mobile phone SIM cards blocked and families pressured to remove posts from Instagram.
When a doll becomes something to confiscate
Personal belongings have assumed a wider role in the families’ efforts to preserve the memory of those killed.
A bedroom can be photographed. Clothes can be shown in a video. A diary can preserve someone’s words. A childhood toy can become an intimate reminder that the person killed was a son or daughter with a life beyond the circumstances of their death.
For parents who share those objects online, private grief can become a public record.
That has made the belongings themselves part of the pressure described by the families.
Authorities have previously sought to restrict the public activities of relatives seeking accountability.
Mahmonir Molaei-Rad, the mother of Kian Pirfalak, and other families connected to those killed during the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests have faced similar efforts to restrict their public activity.
But the latest accounts describe security forces crossing another boundary: moving from controlling what families publish to taking away some of the objects they publish about.
The fight over who gets remembered
The bedrooms of those killed have become more than spaces of mourning for some families.
Photographs of their possessions circulate online alongside images of graves, birthdays and family gatherings, allowing parents to preserve details of lives that might otherwise become reduced to names and death tolls.
The sources who spoke to Iran International said stopping that process was a purpose of the recent raids.
The confiscations therefore bring together two strands of pressure on families seeking accountability – attempts to restrict what they say publicly and interference with how they remember privately.
Nearly nine months after the January killings, that struggle has reached objects of little material importance but immense personal value.
For families refusing to let their children disappear from public memory, a dress, a watch, a diary or a pair of dolls can preserve a fragment of the person who once occupied an empty room, but even those fragments are now being taken away.
Informed sources said Abbasian had previously posted videos on social media in support of demonstrators. The death sentence was communicated to him on Sunday at Shirvan prison.
The precise charge leading to the death sentence and the evidence presented against him have not been made public.
Arrested months after protests
Abbasian was arrested in May in Shirvan's Farhang Shahr district. During the nationwide protests earlier this year, he had published videos urging people to take part in demonstrations.
The source said Abbasian was tortured on the first day of his detention and taken to hospital after his condition deteriorated. He was later transferred to Shirvan prison.
His family has not been allowed to visit him since his arrest, the source said, adding that judicial and security authorities had prevented the family from appointing a lawyer of their choice.
Executions accelerate
The sentence comes as Iranian authorities have carried out a growing number of executions of people detained over the nationwide protests that erupted in January.
On Monday, Alireza Sepahi and Alireza Raisi were executed at Isfahan Central Prison in connection with protests in the central city, according to rights groups and Iran's judiciary.
They were among 12 defendants sentenced to death in what has become known as the Alikhani Square case. Seven people in that case have now been executed.
Sepahi married his fiancée from prison one day before his execution, according to Nobel Peace Prize laureate and lawyer Shirin Ebadi.
“Yesterday he became a groom, and today they executed him,” Ebadi wrote.
Five executions in less than a week
The two executions on Monday followed that of Siavash Jamshidi Kheirabadi, who was put to death on Saturday after being arrested during January protests in Shahrekord.
Iran's judiciary said Jamshidi had been sentenced to death for moharebeh, or “enmity against God,” over accusations that he fired at security forces. No information about his prosecution had been made public before the announcement of his execution.
Two other protesters, Ali Hemmati and Majid Nikandish, were executed on September 30 after being detained over demonstrations in Mashhad.
The judiciary accused them of involvement in the deaths of four security personnel and described them as “field operatives” in what it called an attempted coup. No court documents or independent evidence supporting those allegations were made public.
Taken together, at least five people detained in connection with the January protests have been executed since September 30.
Fair-trial concerns
Rights groups and UN experts have repeatedly raised concerns about the use of death sentences against protesters in Iran, citing reports of torture, forced confessions and denial of access to lawyers.
Mai Sato, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, raised concerns about the treatment of defendants and fair-trial standards in the Alikhani Square case, including reports that detainees and their relatives had been tortured.
A joint statement by 46 countries at the UN Human Rights Council last week also expressed concern over the execution of more than 30 protesters following the January crackdown and called on Iran to halt executions.
Iran Human Rights said in September that at least 100 people detained during the protests were at risk of execution.
Abbasian's case now adds another protester to death row, with his family still barred from visiting him and the basis for the sentence yet to be made public.
The warnings came during a day that also saw Iran execute two protesters detained during the January uprising, the Revolutionary Guards threaten a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, and Yemeni government forces launch a major offensive against the Iran-backed Houthis.
Netanyahu says Iran is fighting for survival
Iran’s leadership is weaker than at any point since its establishment and is fighting for survival, Netanyahu said at a ceremony marking the third anniversary of the October 7 attack.
“The tyranny is weaker than it has ever been since its establishment. It is fighting for its life, and its end is to disappear — or rather, to pass from the world,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu portrayed the October 7 attack as the opening stage of an Iranian-led effort to destroy Israel. He described what he called a three-pronged Iranian strategy involving armed groups surrounding Israel, thousands of missiles aimed at the country and nuclear weapons intended to destroy it.
“That was Iran’s three-pronged plan. But through our combined efforts, we crushed it, stage by stage,” Netanyahu said.
Israel struck Iran’s ballistic missile stockpiles and severely damaged its nuclear program, including scientists, facilities and infrastructure, Netanyahu added.
Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff chief Ali Abdollahi issued his own warning later Monday, saying any renewed conflict would spread beyond Iran and Israel.
“If a new war begins, its fire will engulf everyone,” Abdollahi said.
Iran would respond immediately and without limits if the United States launched another strike, regardless of whether Washington acted before or after congressional elections or at Israel’s urging, Abdollahi added.
IRGC threatens tanker in Strait of Hormuz
The military warnings coincided with a confrontation in the Strait of Hormuz, where a tanker turned back after the Revolutionary Guards hailed the vessel and threatened to target it if it continued its inbound transit, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said.
The encounter took place 11 nautical miles north of Khasab, Oman. The tanker’s master complied with the instruction and reversed course, UKMTO said.
The episode came as energy shipments through Hormuz showed signs of recovery. At least three liquefied natural gas shipments had exited the strait since late last week, extending a rebound in traffic, Bloomberg reported, citing ship-tracking data. Outbound LNG flows nevertheless remained more than 75% below prewar levels.
Iranian lawmaker Hassan Ghashghavi separately warned neighboring countries that their infrastructure could be targeted if Iranian infrastructure came under attack.
“We have told our neighbors that our security is your security, and our insecurity is your insecurity,” Ghashghavi, spokesman for parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, said.
Yemen offensive puts Houthis under pressure
Yemen’s government forces opened another regional front on Monday, launching an operation against the Iran-backed Houthis and announcing advances around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Government forces took control of the strait and Dhubab airport and cut the road between Dhubab and Mokha, military spokesperson Colonel Majed al-Nuzaili said. Hundreds of Houthi fighters were surrounded in Dhubab, he added.
The Saudi-led coalition said it struck 324 targets during the operation and provided air protection over Bab el-Mandeb and air cover for Yemeni government forces.
Yemen’s presidential council earlier announced the launch of “Operation Dawn of Yemen,” which it said was intended to retake Sanaa and restore state institutions.
The developments placed the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, two strategic waterways at opposite ends of the Arabian Peninsula, at the center of Monday’s regional developments.
Executions and economic strain at home
Inside Iran, the judiciary confirmed the executions of Alireza Sepahi and Alireza Raisi, two protesters detained during the January 2026 protests.
The two men were defendants in the Alikhani Square case in Isfahan, in which five others had previously been executed. Iran’s Supreme Court upheld death sentences for 12 defendants in the case in July.
UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran Mai Sato condemned Sepahi’s execution and raised concerns about his treatment and judicial process. Sepahi’s lawyer was still seeking a review when the execution was carried out, Sato said.
Prince Reza Pahlavi’s communications office later vowed to pursue accountability for those involved in the executions through fair trials.
Economic difficulties also remained prominent. Workers across several sectors told Iran International that employers were delaying or splitting wage payments and cutting benefits, with some employees taking second jobs to meet everyday expenses.
The combination of military warnings abroad and political, economic and security developments at home kept the possibility of renewed conflict and its consequences at the center of Iran’s news on Monday.
Alireza Sepahi and Alireza Raisi were executed at dawn at Isfahan Central Prison, also known as Dastgerd Prison, the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reported.
HRANA also reported Sepahi’s execution, citing lawyer Shahrzad Shahbazi.
Mizan, the judiciary-affiliated news agency, confirmed the executions several hours later on Monday.
The two men were among 12 defendants sentenced to death in the case known as the Alikhani Square case, which stems from the January protests in Isfahan.
Married one day before execution
Sepahi married his fiancée, Mahshad Kashani, from prison one day before his execution, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and lawyer Shirin Ebadi wrote on Telegram.
“He became a groom yesterday, and today they executed him,” Ebadi wrote.
Sepahi and Kashani had been engaged before their arrests. Kashani was also detained and sentenced to five years in prison.
“Behind every number the Islamic Republic adds to the list of executions is a life that could have continued for decades,” Ebadi wrote.
Sources familiar with the case told Iran International on Sunday that Sepahi and Raisi had been transferred to solitary confinement at Dastgerd Prison ahead of the implementation of their death sentences.
The office of exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi called on governments, human rights organizations, international bodies and civil and political activists on Sunday to use all available means to prevent the executions.
Seven executions in one case
Sepahi had previously been scheduled for execution on July 28 alongside his cousin Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani and Amirhossein Safari Hosseinabadi, two other defendants in the Alikhani Square case.
Sepahi suffered a stroke before being transferred for execution and was taken to a hospital in Isfahan. Abolfazl Sepahi and Safari were executed that day.
Ghaem Hosseini was executed on August 20, while Gol-Mohammad Mohammadi and Erfan Esfandiari were executed on July 19.
The executions of Sepahi and Raisi brought the number of people executed in the case to seven.
Iran International reported on July 8 that 12 defendants in the Alikhani Square case had been sentenced to death.
State media said four government security personnel were killed during clashes with protesters at Alikhani Square on January 8.
UN expert raises concerns over treatment
Mai Sato, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, raised what she described as “serious concerns” about the treatment of defendants and fair-trial standards in the Alikhani Square case.
“According to reports, Alireza Sepahi’s mother was tortured in front of him, and he and his cousin were beaten and tortured in front of their family,” Sato wrote in Persian on X.
Sepahi’s death sentence was carried out “while his lawyer was still seeking a way to have the case reviewed,” Sato added.
Information obtained by Iran International’s Fact-Finding Campaign indicated Sepahi was struck by four shotgun pellets during his arrest at home and was later tortured in detention.
The latest executions came two days after Siavash Jamshidi Kheirabadi, another person detained during the January protests, was executed on October 3.
The latest warning came from Mohammad Amin Aghamiri, secretary of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace and head of the National Cyberspace Center, who raised the possibility of treating satellite internet infrastructure as a military target.
“If satellite internet infrastructure is used as a tool of war, naturally this infrastructure can become a legitimate military target,” Aghamiri said Monday at a conference on online businesses organized by Iran’s cyber police.
Aghamiri described satellite internet and Starlink as potential threats and said the Islamic Republic was technically prepared to counter them.
Referring to the January protests as a “coup,” Aghamiri said authorities had succeeded in disabling Starlink terminals during the unrest.
Officials and state media have repeatedly described anti-government protests as riots or attempted coups and attributed them to foreign actors, including the United States and Israel.
Internet shutdowns and protests
Internet restrictions have long been used by Iranian authorities during periods of widespread unrest.
The Islamic Republic imposed a sweeping internet shutdown during the November 2019 protests and has since restricted or cut connectivity at different points, including during the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising, the 12-day war and the January 2026 protests.
After the 40-day war began in late February, authorities again cut internet access. The restrictions lasted 88 days, becoming the longest digital blackout in the world.
Concerns surrounding Starlink have grown alongside an increased US military presence in the region, worsening economic conditions and domestic discontent.
Internet and cybersecurity expert Davoud Sajjadi told Iran International on October 1 that Starlink allows users to bypass filtering and other government mechanisms designed to control internet access.
The ability to connect outside those systems has made the technology a growing concern for officials, Sajjadi said.
Diplomatic pressure and Starlink seizures
Iran has also pursued diplomatic and law-enforcement measures against the satellite service.
The Foreign Ministry summoned Norway’s ambassador on Sunday to protest continued Starlink operations in Iran.
Norway is the country through which the Starlink network is registered with the International Telecommunication Union, and Iranian authorities say Oslo is therefore responsible for preventing what they describe as unauthorized operations inside Iran.
Foreign Ministry delivered a formal protest to the Norwegian ambassador and called on Norway to take action to halt Starlink operations in Iran.
Authorities have simultaneously intensified efforts to stop the import and distribution of Starlink equipment.
Hossein Rahimi, head of Iran’s Economic Security Police, previously said police seized 997 Starlink devices and related equipment during the first four months of the current Iranian year, which started in mid-March, and arrested 163 people in connection with their import and distribution.
Efforts to stop the entry and distribution of Starlink equipment increased after the 12-day war, Rahimi added.
Official warns Starlink could force power cuts
The extent of official concern was underscored by a Communications Ministry official who warned that widespread Starlink access could undermine the government’s existing mechanisms for controlling cyberspace.
“The spread of Starlink drives the final nail into the coffin of cyberspace governance,” Mohammad Hafez Hakami, deputy minister for technology, innovation and international affairs at the Communications Ministry, said on September 30.
“Those concerned about Starlink have been warning about it for two years, but not even a single line of policy has been developed on the issue,” Hakami said. “If this trend continues, we will be forced to cut electricity in the next crisis.”
Hakami also warned that the expansion of Starlink and direct-to-cell technology could render mechanisms such as device registration and user identification ineffective.
“Starlink, as a new tool that evades governance, is fundamentally no longer based on our network,” Hakami said.
Direct-to-cell technology allows mobile phones to connect directly to satellites without relying on conventional telecommunications towers.
The prospect of satellite connections operating independently of domestic networks poses a particular challenge to authorities because shutting down conventional internet infrastructure would no longer necessarily disconnect users.
Starlink enters broader debate over information access
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also highlighted Starlink during his September 24 address to the United Nations General Assembly, holding up one of the devices while discussing access to information in Iran.
“The Iranian regime is especially afraid when their people have this. This is a communications device, Starlink, that allows people to access truth, to exercise choice and to exercise freedom of thought and freedom of speech.”
Netanyahu said Starlink could give Iranians access to what he called “truth,” as well as choice, freedom of thought and freedom of speech.
The growing focus on Starlink now extends across several arms of the Iranian state, from diplomatic pressure and equipment seizures to technical countermeasures and warnings of military action.
