How has Iran’s regime survived war, sanctions and repeated waves of protest? Two defectors from its security apparatus describe how it recruits, rewards and controls the men who keep it in power.
DW’s investigative team spent months secretly corresponding with a former intelligence officer and a former special forces commander, corroborating their identities and testimony. They describe ideological conditioning, privileged access to business opportunities and restrictions reaching into marriage, travel and their children’s education.
Confidential documents obtained by DW also reveal the structure and weaponry of forces deployed during protests. Amnesty International’s Iran researcher examines what those documents show about lethal repression.
DW investigative journalist Birgitta Schuelke explains how the team verified its sources and what it learned about Iran’s security apparatus.
The Iranian Embassy in Berlin rejected the allegations and conclusions. The Supreme Leader’s Office did not respond.
Don’t miss DW Investigative’s long-form report on this exclusive story.
Chapters:
00:00 DW investigation examines how Iran’s regime maintains its grip on power
00:40 Former intelligence operative and defector from Iran’s security apparatus
01:27 How Iran recruits and indoctrinates members of its security forces
01:44 Former commander in Iran’s elite special forces and defector
02:17 Privilege, control and life inside Iran’s loyal security elite
02:59 How the regime’s security system suppresses opposition and protests
03:42 Raha Bahraini, Iran researcher at Amnesty International, on documents revealing protest crackdowns
04:24 Why former insiders decided to expose the regime’s methods [
05:35 Interview: Brigitta Schülke, DW journalist and member of the investigative team
07:11 New details on protest command centers, surveillance and plainclothes agents
09:24 Alleged clandestine operations, political killings and the secretive "Dachma" network
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