Iranian Police Claim 21,000 Arrests During 12-Day War with Israel Amid Concerns Over Mass Detentions

Iranian police announced on Tuesday that they detained around 21,000 people described as “suspects” during the country’s 12-day war with Israel a figure that far exceeds the 2,000 arrests reported by the judiciary, raising concerns over the scale and legitimacy of the detentions.

Police spokesman Saeed Montazeralmahdi told state media that the arrests followed 7,850 public tip-offs to the national emergency line. He framed the mass arrests as a sign of “public vigilance,” claiming there was a 41% increase in calls to the hotline during the conflict.

According to Montazeralmahdi, officers established over 1,000 tactical checkpoints nationwide and deployed more than 40,000 police for continuous road and site security.

Rights advocates have warned that such sweeping arrests, carried out during a time of heightened political tension, are often used by Iranian authorities to target dissenting voices and suppress public freedoms raising serious questions about due process, evidence, and the potential imprisonment of innocent civilians.