Iran's Basij forces, the paramilitary wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), have intensified internal security operations across the country in an unprecedented crackdown on suspected Mossad agents. In rural areas near Tehran, they’ve set up checkpoints, searched vehicles, and patrolled roads, targeting SUVs, vans, and trucks for explosives and drone components.

The operation reflects Tehran’s assertion that Israel’s intelligence agency has embedded operatives across Iran, facilitating airstrikes and sabotage operations amid escalating regional conflict.

Espionage Arrests and Executions

Iranian authorities report that hundreds have been detained, primarily unemployed Iranians and Afghan nationals. Two executions took place on Sunday and Monday: Mohammad-Amin Mahdavi-Shayesteh, accused of leading a Mossad-linked cyber team disguised as an immigration consultancy, and Majid Mosayebi, accused of passing confidential information to Israel in return for cryptocurrency and meetings in Gulf states.

Iran’s judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei emphasized speed in espionage prosecutions. “It’s wartime... there should be no delay,” he said on Saturday. State media later showed him meeting detainees, one of whom admitted to filming air defense sites for foreign agents.

Public Surveillance and Growing Support

Witnesses say Basij patrols are now visible in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar and rural villages, where individuals were arrested for actions as minor as photographing villas. “The Basij also close the roads at midnight and search every car,” said one local janitor.

While many Iranians historically resent the Basij for their role in suppressing dissent, recent Israeli and U.S. military actions have stirred nationalism. “It’s unsettling, but also somewhat reassuring to see them near my house,” said Afsaneh, a Tehran resident.

Strategic Justification and Citizen Mobilization

Officials claim Mossad exploited Iran’s borders and economic vulnerabilities to build a covert network that assembled drones and directed them from rooftops. The new IRGC commander, Major General Mohammad Pakpour, praised the mobilization, calling public support a “blessing from God.”

“There is no plan to go as far as entering people’s houses to look for explosives unless we have credible reports,” said one regime insider. Still, checkpoints and arrests continue as the Basij enforces the regime’s internal security push.

The crackdown follows a sharp escalation in the long-running covert conflict between Iran and Israel. Iranian officials blame Mossad’s ground networks for recent Israeli airstrikes targeting senior commanders and nuclear scientists. The U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend has further stoked tensions, pushing Iranian leadership to act with wartime urgency.