Iranian government executes 21 and arrests more than 4,000 amid blackouts
Updated
Updated · The National Desk · May 8
Iranian government executes 21 and arrests more than 4,000 amid blackouts
10 articles · Updated · The National Desk · May 8
A Daily Mail reporter said the detentions and executions have occurred since February as Iranians face partial internet shutdowns, surveillance fears and deepening economic hardship.
She said families pay fees to locate detained relatives and secure release, while poor connectivity forces reliance on independent monitors because official casualty and repression figures remain opaque.
Amid talk of a possible US-Iran deal on nuclear enrichment, sanctions and Hormuz transit, many Iranians fear any agreement with Tehran would leave ordinary people as collateral damage.
Beyond the oil crisis, could Iran's threat to undersea internet cables trigger a global digital and financial meltdown?
Will a US peace deal save the world from war, but betray the Iranian people by funding the very regime they fight?
Since March 2026, Iran has intensified domestic repression by secretly executing detainees after unfair trials, arresting thousands including activists and minorities, and imposing a near-total internet blackout. This crackdown exploits the ongoing Iran-US/Israel conflict, with authorities using torture to force confessions and accelerating executions. The internet blackout, triggered after U.S. and Israeli strikes, has devastated online businesses and blocked independent reporting of abuses. Despite harsh repression and economic collapse worsened by sanctions and war damage, civil resistance continues. Meanwhile, international responses remain divided: the U.S. issues warnings and sanctions, Russia supplies surveillance technology enabling censorship, and China offers quiet support, leaving Iran’s regime emboldened to deepen authoritarian control.