NextFin News - Iranian Police Chief Ahmad-Reza Radan declared on Wednesday that the state will no longer distinguish between domestic protesters and foreign combatants, effectively reclassifying civil dissent as an act of war. Speaking on state television as U.S. and Israeli military strikes continued to batter Iranian infrastructure, Radan warned that anyone taking to the streets "at the behest of the enemy" would be treated as a legitimate military target. The pronouncement marks a definitive shift in Tehran’s internal security doctrine, moving from the brutal suppression of riots to the active elimination of perceived domestic insurgents during a period of unprecedented existential threat to the Islamic Republic.
The timing of Radan’s ultimatum is not coincidental. It follows a direct appeal from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the Iranian people, urging them to seize a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to topple the clerical establishment. With the newly appointed Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, reportedly wounded in a February 28 strike that killed his father, Ali Khamenei, the regime is projecting a posture of extreme defensiveness. By labeling protesters as "enemies," the police chief is providing the legal and ideological cover for a scorched-earth policy against any internal uprising that might coincide with external military pressure. Radan’s rhetoric suggests that the "finger is on the trigger," a phrase that carries heavy weight in a country where security forces killed an estimated 6,500 people during protests in early January.
This escalation in domestic rhetoric reflects a regime that feels the walls closing in. The appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei, a 56-year-old hardliner known for his role in crushing the 2009 Green Movement, was intended to signal continuity and strength. However, his absence from public view since the recent strikes has fueled rumors of instability. The Atlantic Council and other analysts view the current crackdown as a "victory for the hardline factions" who believe that any sign of leniency would be fatal. By framing dissent as treason, the security apparatus is attempting to preempt the kind of mass mobilization that Netanyahu and U.S. President Trump have been encouraging through public broadcasts and social media campaigns.
The human cost of this policy is already staggering. Beyond the thousands killed in January, more than 50,000 people remain in detention, according to the human rights network HRANA. Radan’s latest comments imply that the rules of engagement have been further loosened. In previous cycles of unrest, the Basij and police forces used "non-lethal" measures before transitioning to live ammunition; the new "enemy" designation suggests that live fire may now be the first resort. This is a high-stakes gamble for the Tehran leadership. While it may deter some from taking to the streets, it also risks radicalizing a population that sees the state not as a governing body, but as an occupying force.
Geopolitically, the internal crackdown is inextricably linked to the regional conflagration. As Iran launches retaliatory strikes against Israel and Gulf states like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the domestic front is viewed by the Revolutionary Guard as the "soft underbelly" of the revolution. The regime’s calculation is that it cannot fight a multi-front war if the capital is in chaos. Consequently, the police force has been transformed into a frontline military unit. The deployment of security forces "day and night" across major cities is an admission that the government fears its own citizens as much as it fears foreign missiles. The transition from "protester" to "enemy" is the final rhetorical step before a total domestic military administration takes hold.
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