Reeling from Israel war, Iran expands espionage law, bans Starlink use
Iran has officially enacted a sweeping new espionage law imposing harsher measures — including the death penalty — for collaboration with Israel, as rights activists decry what they say is a new campaign of arbitrary arrests and deeper repression.
TEHRAN — The Islamic Republic has ratified comprehensive revisions to its espionage law that dramatically expand punishments for citizens accused of aiding "hostile states," particularly Israel and the United States.
State media reported this week that the hard-line constitutional watchdog, the Guardian Council, finalized the parliament-approved legislation after rounds of amendments. The law grants authorities unprecedented powers to label a broad range of civil activities as espionage, a conviction that could lead to the death penalty.
First introduced in June amid Iran's brief but intense 12-day war with Israel, the law reflects Tehran's determination to confront what it has cast as a wave of Israeli infiltration inside the country.
Activists and legal experts, however, have warned that the new provisions blur the line between actual espionage and dissent, granting security institutions broad discretion to criminalize ordinary activities, including posting on social media and participating in protests.
