Iran targets long-standing exiled opposition as war deepens repression

A woman walks past Iranian missile models in Tehran’s Valiasr Square on 6 April 2026, as authorities intensify repression and executions amid war and internal unrest. AFP - ATTA KENARE

A sharp rise in Iranian executions of alleged People’s Mojahedin members is drawing attention to one of the country’s oldest and most divisive opposition movements – a group whose leaders fled abroad decades ago, but which still claims to run resistance networks inside Iran.

Nine of the 10 political prisoners executed by Iran since 18 March were linked to the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (known as the MEK), according to Iran Human Rights, an independent NGO that investigates each execution carried out.