Iran is tightening its grip on its citizens to a degree that experts warn could soon resemble North Korea’s total control over society. In the aftermath of the 12-day war with Israel, the Islamic Republic has escalated its crackdowns, relying on fear and surveillance to maintain power. Many analysts and rights groups say this moment marks a decisive turn toward more extreme authoritarianism.

New Levels of Suppression

Kasra Aarabi, director of IRGC research at United Against Nuclear Iran, has been one of the most outspoken voices describing how severe the crackdown has become. “The regime has always been totalitarian, but the level of suppression now is unprecedented. It’s unlike anything we’ve seen before,” Aarabi said in an interview with Fox News Digital.

Aarabi described a climate of fear that has taken hold in Tehran and beyond. Citizens are stopped at random in the streets, their phones confiscated and searched. If authorities find any messages or images viewed as sympathetic to Israel or critical of the government, people can disappear without a trace. “People are now leaving their phones at home or deleting everything before they step outside,” he said.

A source inside Iran confirmed these accounts, telling Fox News Digital that “the repression has become terrifying.”

During the recent conflict, Iran’s leaders ordered a total internet blackout that lasted several days. The blackout was not only intended to prevent the spread of news about Israeli airstrikes. It also blocked Israeli evacuation alerts and created confusion and fear. Aarabi explained, “It was a perverse objective. They deliberately cut communications to instill fear and manipulate public perception. For four days, not a single message went through.”

This tactic mirrored methods used by North Korea, which routinely cuts its citizens off from outside information and punishes anyone who tries to access it. “We’re witnessing a kind of domestic isolation that will have major consequences for the Iranian people,” Aarabi said.

Dr. Afshon Ostovar, a leading Iran scholar, emphasized that repression is the regime’s most dependable strategy for survival. “Repressing the people at home is easy. That’s something they can do,” he said. “So it’s not unlikely that Iran could become more insular, more autocratic, more repressive — and more similar to, let’s say, a North Korea — than what it is today.”

Surveillance and Intimidation Spread Across Society

Recent reports show that the government is moving quickly to expand both its surveillance powers and its authority to imprison or execute anyone accused of collaboration with foreign governments. A new law passed by Iran’s parliament threatens the death penalty for a wide range of actions, including sharing information with outside media or possessing unlicensed satellite internet devices like Starlink.

Article 1 of this law states that any “intelligence or espionage activity, or operational action” on behalf of Israel or other so-called hostile states “shall be considered corruption on earth,” a crime that can lead to execution.

The law also punishes sending videos or images to foreign networks with lengthy prison sentences and permanent bans from public service.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of Iran Human Rights, said, “We are deeply concerned about prisoners who have been transferred to unknown locations without any oversight. They are at risk of torture or execution.”

UN experts have also condemned these measures. “Criminalising the sharing of information in broad language violates the rights to freedom of expression and information,” they said in a joint statement.

Expanding Repression Against Minorities and Activists

At least six people have already been executed on charges of espionage since June, including three Kurdish men. Hundreds more have been arrested, many from ethnic and religious minorities such as Baha’is, Kurds, Balouchis and Ahwazi Arabs.

Swedish-Iranian researcher Ahmadreza Djalali has been moved to an undisclosed location and faces imminent execution. UN officials said, “Following the ceasefire, the world is watching closely to see how Iranian authorities treat their own people.”

Meanwhile, women and girls remain targets of systematic harassment. Despite earlier promises to ease hijab enforcement, authorities have instead rolled out the “Noor Plan,” which uses surveillance and special police units to punish women who defy mandatory dress codes.

Sara Hossain, chair of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, said, “The criminalisation, surveillance and continued repression of protesters, families of victims and survivors, in particular women and girls, is deeply worrying.”

The Rise of a More Radical IRGC

Inside the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, tensions are growing. Aarabi said that younger officers, who joined after 2000, have been trained in more radical ideologies. Over half of their training is now ideological rather than military.

“These newer factions have begun turning on senior commanders, accusing them of being too soft on Israel or even collaborating with Mossad,” Aarabi explained. “In a twist of irony, Khamenei created these extreme ideological ranks to consolidate power — and now they’re more radical than he is.”

This generational split has created chaos inside the IRGC, with leaders preparing internal purges to reassert control. Observers believe these purges will elevate younger, more aggressive commanders who are willing to take more risks, both at home and abroad

Experts note that North Korea’s system of repression is defined by several characteristics that Iran now seems to be adopting: total isolation from the outside world, control over all media, ideological indoctrination that starts in childhood, and a willingness to use collective punishment against entire families.

In North Korea, even minor criticism of the leadership can lead to imprisonment in labor camps, where entire generations can disappear. While Iran has not yet reached this level of isolation, it has begun to criminalize ordinary communication and widen the scope of the death penalty to include any form of contact with foreign groups.

Despite the brutality, analysts believe this escalation shows that the regime feels vulnerable. “If the Islamic Republic were confident, it wouldn’t need to crush its people this way,” Aarabi said. “It’s acting out of fear.”

For now, many Iranians are too afraid to protest, and the streets are mostly silent. But observers warn that with every wave of arrests and executions, the anger beneath the surface is only growing.

Whether the regime’s turn toward North Korea-style control can preserve its power or eventually provoke a backlash remains an open question. As Aarabi put it, “Until the regime’s suppressive apparatus is dismantled, the streets will remain silent — and regime change remains unlikely.”