Iranian student warns ‘barbaric’ regime is taking nation ‘hostage,’ executing civilians to end unrest

Iran has increased executions and arrests across the country as the United States continues strikes in the Middle East. Mooné Rahimi, a student and activist previously arrested by the morality police, said the regime is using fear tactics to hold the nation “hostage.”

Rahimi said on “Fox & Friends Weekend” that Iranian civilians view the ongoing war as a desperate “rescue mission” from a regime that uses arrests and executions to maintain its grip on power.

“This situation that is happening in Iran, they call it [a] rescue mission, especially the people inside Iran,” said Rahimi, who left Iran several years ago and is now studying in the United States.

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Women mourn as thousands gather in Enghelab Square in Tehran, Iran, on March 1, 2026, after Iranian state media confirmed the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

“This barbaric, brutal regime treats women in a very intense way. If there is a protester, a woman protester, in the street of Iran, they’re going to arrest them, and they’re going to put them in a jail and, at the end, they’re going to hang them as they’re doing it like those executions that are happening,” she added.

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This week, 19-year-old champion wrestler Saleh Mohammadi and at least two other men were hanged in Iran, sparking fears that a larger wave of killings could be coming. The three were arrested during January’s protests and sentenced after authorities said they killed two officers during demonstrations.

Iranian wrestling champion Saleh Mohammadi, left, was reportedly executed over his participation in a protest in January. On the right, a Tehran billboard shows Supreme Leaders Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Ali Khamenei and newly appointed Mojtaba Khamenei, displayed March 10. (The Foreign Desk/AFP via Getty Images)

Amnesty International said the convictions were unfairly rendered and that confessions were extracted using torture techniques, according to the Associated Press. Rahimi said she believes there have likely already been more executions and that the regime is using them to “spread fear” to stop protests.

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She added that Iranians, both inside the country and outside, have been trying to warn the world that the regime is holding the nation “hostage” through brutality. Rahimi herself was arrested several times by the morality police before she decided to leave.

A truck carries the coffins of Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the Basij paramilitary forces, during a funeral procession in Tehran on March 18. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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“They actually don’t care how much you cover yourself, if you just have your bangs, a little bit of your hair out of your hijab, they’re [going to] arrest you,” she said.

Her account comes as the U.S. and Israel continue to pressure Iran under Operation Epic Fury following the Feb. 28 strikes that resulted in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Three additional warships and roughly 2,500 Marines are currently being deployed by the U.S. to the Middle East.