Iran tightens domestic security controls as US strike threats grow

Iran's domestic security apparatus is on high alert, hardening its approach to anything the authorities see as threatening their control during the war with the United States.

Authorities have warned the public of tough sentences for protests against the government and are tightening control of public spaces, after months of looser restrictions on how people dress.

Analysts say the authorities are trying to project that they will not yield on the principles of the Islamic Republic after eight months of war and amid the threat of a new, wider wave of US attacks.

Mahjoob Zweiri, director of the Gulf Studies Center at Qatar University, said the authorities have also been able to publicly mobilise supporters committed to the government, including not only the Revolutionary Guards but also civilians, and that this is likely to continue until the war ends.

Iranian authorities routinely hand down harsh punishments to deter dissent, and the war, which began on October 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iranian leaders, has accelerated that process.