By Pishtaz | 2026-03-04

Behind every system of repression are individuals who must carry out orders under immense pressure and constant surveillance.

In Iran, recent evidence from protests and crackdowns reveals brutality against citizens and deep psychological damage among those enforcing state violence.

Understanding this hidden toll humanizes what is often described as an impersonal "machinery of repression."

At the center lies what psychologists call "moral injury", the deep emotional and spiritual harm that arises when individuals violate their own ethical beliefs.

Soldiers and security personnel ordered to treat their own people as "insurgents" face an especially acute and enduring form of trauma.

Instead of confronting external enemies, they suppress neighbors, classmates, and sometimes even members of their own families.

Participation in torture, coerced confessions, or sham proceedings gradually erodes personal identity, moral coherence, and the capacity for empathy.

Studies on moral injury show such experiences often lead to depression, substance abuse, and lasting psychological distress.

Psychological erosion

Recent acccounts underscore how these orders translate into extreme violence carried out in public spaces and under chaotic conditions.

In video, motorbike security forces stopped by a sidewalk in Tehran and shot at pedestrians at close range during early mass protests.

Incidents like this, widely circulated online, horrify viewers and likely traumatize perpetrators who must suppress empathy and moral hesitation.

Carrying out such acts requires repeated emotional suppression that can fracture identity and induce numbness, fatalism, or long term psychological withdrawal.

Over time, these mechanisms deepen internal conflict, even as they enable continued participation in state violence against fellow citizens.

Cracks in loyalty

Evidence of internal dissent suggests not all members of the security apparatus accept these orders unquestioningly or without deep personal conflict.

Leaked documents and testimonies indicate growing discomfort within the ranks of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated forces.

After the January 8 uprising, the IRGC Intelligence Organization issued a public warning against "insubordination, desertion or disobedience," threatening prosecution and "decisive action."

Such warnings often signal internal strain rather than strength, since regimes rarely caution against disobedience without fearing it is occurring.

These cracks challenge the Islamic Republic's narrative of total loyalty and ideological unity within its security forces.

Public messaging portrays cohesion, but enforced silence conceals anxiety, resignation, and fear among those ordered to kill fellow citizens.

Many personnel know refusal could mean imprisonment, loss of livelihood, or harm to their families and loved ones.

The result is coerced compliance, where outward obedience masks inner conflict and a growing sense of moral injury.

However, recognizing this complexity does not excuse violence, but it clarifies how repression persists through fear, coercion, and psychological compromise.