‘Transnational repression’: Iranian diaspora faces harassment, death threats, pressure on families

Iran's government has developed a strategy of transnational repression targeting its diaspora abroad through harassment, death threats, and pressure on family members, according to Dr. Roya Boroumand of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran. This system of state control began after the 1979 revolution and has evolved over decades to use technology and global networks more effectively. The Iranian regime employs transnational repression to accomplish three strategic goals: silencing political dissent outside its borders, deterring activism within diaspora communities, and legitimizing its rule domestically. By threatening exiles and their relatives, Tehran extends its reach far beyond Iranian territory to suppress opposition voices worldwide.