5 Oppressive Iranian Institutions Israel has Targeted

As Israel degrades the Islamic Republic of Iran’s military capabilities, the campaign has also targeted key pillars of repression in the country. Among them are senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders, the headquarters of the Law Enforcement Command (or NAJA, its Persian acronym) in Tehran, sand the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) — the regime’s primary propaganda machine.

While the conflict has tragically taken civilian lives, Israeli strikes have weakened the very institutions used to suppress dissent, often via the lethal use of force against citizens. The targeting marks a shift from words to action — Israel is now making good on its earlier messages of solidarity with the Iranian people who have long endured the brutality of the clerical regime.

1. The Law Enforcement Command: The First Barrier Against Civic Activism

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on June 18 that Israel had “destroyed the Iranian regime’s Internal Security Headquarters — the Iranian dictator’s central repressive arm.” According to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, NAJA is responsible for maintaining “moral and social security” and operates as the first line of repression against civil activism in Iran.

In 2011, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned NAJA under Executive Order 13553 for its role in serious human rights abuses following the 2009 Green Movement, citing “Iran’s willingness to turn the machinery of the state, at its highest levels, against its own people to violently suppress their democratic aspirations.” Treasury also highlighted NAJA’s role in a detention center where detainees endured assault and denial of medical care that led to deaths.

2. IRIB: Tehran’s Main Propaganda Apparatus

A propaganda arm under the supreme leader’s direct control, IRIB is shaped by the IRGC and the Ministry of Intelligence (MOI). It holds a monopoly over the Iranian media, functioning as the regime’s primary censorship engine. Israel struck an IRIB newsroom as it broadcasted wartime propaganda on June 16. Israel then hacked the network on June 18 to air a message urging Iranians to rise up against the regime.

IRIB uses forced confessions — often extracted under torture — to spread false narratives, which are then promoted online or used in show trials. In 2022, the United States sanctioned six IRIB staffers for airing statements from families of slain protesters made under duress, aimed at discrediting the victims. The European Union similarly designated leaders of Press TV, IRIB’s foreign-language arm. These broadcasts help the IRGC and MOI legitimize sham trials, secure bogus convictions, and justify executions — all under the guise of televised truth.

3. The IRGC’s Top Commander: The Leading Repressor of the Iranian People

The IRGC is not Iran’s conventional army, but an ideological force dedicated to preserving and exporting the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Hossein Salami, its former top commander, whom Israel eliminated on June 13, directed brutal crackdowns on protesters. During the 2022 Women, Life, Freedom movement, Salami warned, “This ominous sedition will bring no happy ending to you. Do not ruin your future!” He further threatened, “We will turn up at your doors,” and “We will take revenge.” Later in 2022, Canada designated Salami for human rights violations, citing his role in the “systematic persecution of women” during the crackdown on that year’s protests. The European Union sanctioned Salami in 2021 for his role in authorizing the lethal suppression of the November 2019 protests, when IRGC units and the Basij militia targeted unarmed civilians across Iran.

4. The IRGC Intelligence Organization Commander: Surveilling and Torturing Dissidents

Israel also eliminated Mohammad Kazemi, head of the IRGC Intelligence Organization (IRGC-IO) on June 16, along with his deputy, Mohammad Hassan Mohaghegh. Under their leadership, the IRGC-IO served as one of the regime’s most repressive organs, overseeing mass surveillance, arresting and torturing dissidents, and operating secret detention sites across Iran, including its own ward in Evin Prison known for brutal interrogations.

In 2022, the United States sanctioned Mohaghegh for his role in this apparatus, while New Zealand imposed travel bans for his human rights abuses. The U.S. Treasury described Kazemi as overseeing “one of the regime’s most brutal security services” and noted his role in intensifying crackdowns on civil society.

5. The IRGC Aerospace Force Commander: Shooting Down a Civilian Plane

Killed by Israel on June 13, Amir Ali Hajizadeh led the IRGC Aerospace Force — not only the arm responsible for the missiles now aimed at Israeli cities but also the architect of one of the regime’s darkest acts of internal deception. On January 8, 2020, under Hajizadeh’s command, the force deliberately launched two missiles at Ukrainian International Airlines Flight PS752 just minutes after it departed Tehran. All 176 people aboard were killed, including 29 children.

The strike came just days after the United States killed IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani. Rather than retaliate directly, the regime turned its firepower on a civilian airliner leaving its own capital. The regime eventually admitted responsibility, with Salami justifying the act by saying, “Had the plane not been shot down, there would have been war” with the United States.

Janatan Sayeh is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from the author and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Janatan on X @JanatanSayeh. Follow FDD on X @FDD and @FDD_Iran. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.