Iran’s regime is more aggressive than ever as it fights for survival, 45 years on

Domestic persecution, arrests and executions are on the rise as Iranians increasingly reject Tehran’s hardline rule

Amir Sartipi has only known life under the Islamic Republic, a system born out of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

In the northern Iranian city of Gorgan, surrounded by lush mountains, the 25-year-old eked out the days following his military service by modelling and teaching drama, until his life was upturned almost overnight.

Born to a judge father, his uncles also served in Iran’s military under the power systems Mr Sartipi began to question as he grew older.

In 2019, he joined protests that swept Iran against fuel price increases in an already-battered economy, hoping for change within the government to improve the lives of fellow Iranians. Four years later, the same judiciary system his father worked for sentenced him to death.

February 11 marks 45 years since Iran’s Islamic Revolution that ended the Pahlavi dynasty and ushered in a new regime under exiled Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

For the small minority in power, the revolution – and its enduring legacy – remain a victory. But its security lies on shaky ground, and Iranians say they are hungry, more than ever, for change.

Mr Sartipi is one of an estimated 22,000 people who were arrested during the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests – widely dubbed as the biggest threat to the regime in its history.

As news emerged of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) units being transferred to the Kurdish west to suppress demonstrations, he began to organise small protests with friends in Gorgan.

“In 2022, people were shouting ‘Death to [Iranian Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei, death to the Islamic Republic’ for the first time. In 2019, we didn’t have that. Back then, we thought the police were supporting us. This time they beat everyone,” he told media.

“They didn’t care if you were old, young, if you had nothing to defend yourself. I saw a video of a girl being beaten to death, but the road was so empty that no one could hear her.”

Days later, Mr Sartipi was arrested.

“They came for me when I was in the shower, pulled me naked on to the street and put me in solitary confinement,” he said, showing the spaces where his teeth were knocked out during lengthy police beatings.

For months, he was moved between solitary confinement, IRGC prison and police custody. In each, he endured extensive physical, psychological and sexual abuse.

“I was ready for torture, but not this kind of torture.

“At first, they tortured me for 10 days. I needed emergency medical help, but they sent me straight to prison,” he said.

“One time, they beat me so badly I fainted. They kept shaking me to wake up, but I couldn’t breathe … They took me to hospital, and I was told I had a heart attack.”

While Iran’s regime remains committed to its ideology from almost half a century ago, its rivals, including Saudi Arabia, have made strides to modernise and integrate globally, and its population – mostly born after 1979 – are increasingly alienated.

Neda Mirzaloo, 43, was born in Tehran a year after the revolution.