Espionage threats blur lines between security and dissent in Iran

While two wars on Iran by the United States and Israel have exposed serious vulnerabilities in Iran’s intelligence and security institutions, Iran is using the threat to crack down on dissent, analysts have said.Saeid Golkar, an associate professor in political science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, said the genuine espionage threats faced by Iran were illustrated by the killing of high-level figures, including former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the latest assault by Israel and the US on February 28.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Confronting the ‘largest energy security threat’list 2 of 3‘Unnecessary’ Iran war, corruption: Takeaways from Obama’s midterm speecheslist 3 of 3Is Iran planning attacks on Americans; why is the US on alert?end of list“At the same time, the regime has historically used real or, most of the time, perceived security threats to justify political repression and expand its coercive apparatus,” Golkar told Al Jazeera.“The current crackdown appears to reflect both legitimate counterintelligence concerns and the regime’s broader efforts to suppress dissent and intimidate society.”Spy threatFormer Israel...