ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
Updated:

The Islamic regime has seized the properties of more than 100 individuals accused of collaborating with Israel or committing acts of treason, the judiciary confirmed this weekend.

The Golestan Province judiciary announced the confiscation of assets belonging to 74 Iranians living abroad on charges of “treason against the homeland.” Meanwhile, the head of the South Khorasan Province Justice Department reported the seizure of property belonging to 34 individuals accused of “supporting the enemy.”

Properties, vehicles, and financial assets were all confiscated as part of what authorities described as a crackdown on individuals deemed to be acting against the regime.

Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje’i, head of the judiciary, warned that “elements collaborating with the enemy, inside and outside the country,” could face severe punishment, including execution.

“One of the prescribed punishments in this regard is execution, and after investigations, one of the legal punishments will apply to those subject to it,” he said.

In recent days, the Basij and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, together with the police, have set up checkpoints across the streets of Tehran and other cities, some of which have been targeted in Israeli attacks. This photo dates back to previous months.
In recent days, the Basij and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, together with the police, have set up checkpoints across the streets of Tehran and other cities, some of which have been targeted in Israeli attacks. This photo dates back to previous months. (credit: RASA)

Property seizures had fallen out of favor in Iran, expert says

Menachem Merhavi, a researcher specializing in modern Iran and Shia Islam, had previously told The Jerusalem Post that while property seizures were used in the early years of the Islamic Republic, the practice later fell out of favor before reemerging in recent years.

Earlier this month, authorities in Yazd Province confiscated the assets of 51 people who were also accused of collaborating with hostile networks, including Israel.

Ben Sabti, an Iran expert and researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), told The Jerusalem Post that the war had given the regime an excuse to target its true opposition: artists, critics, and human rights activists. With the majority living outside the regime’s reach, the Islamic Republic is able to use the war as an opportunity to seize properties with few legal processes to protect the assets of those based abroad.