Members of Australia's Iranian community are reporting direct and intimidating surveillance during phone calls with relatives in Iran, as the Islamist regime attempts to quash a major uprising.
'You Need to Hang Up Now': The Chilling Intrusion
One man, identified only as Hussein for safety reasons, described a terrifying moment during a call with his mother in Tehran. After a week of communication blackouts, he finally heard from her. When he questioned the regime's official narrative about the protests, he heard her speaking to a third party on the line.
"As soon as I said that I could hear her talking to someone else on the line," Hussein said. His mother relayed a command from the unseen listener: "quickly cut off the conversation." Her final words to him were "don't worry" before the call ended abruptly after less than two minutes.
Siamak Ghahreman, president of an Australian Iranian community organisation, stated that six people this week alone reported identical experiences. "They said when speaking to a relative this voice comes up and tells them the same thing: 'you need to hang up now'," he explained. This marks a stark escalation from covert monitoring to open intimidation.
A 'Well-Oiled' Surveillance Machine Intensifies
Experts confirm that telecommunications surveillance by Iranian security forces is a long-standing practice, but it has become brazen during the current crisis. The protests, which began in early January, represent one of the most significant challenges to the regime in years.
Sahar Razavi, director of the Iranian and Middle Eastern Studies Center at California State University, called the Islamic Republic's apparatus a "very well oiled machine when it comes to surveillance." She noted that intercepting calls serves to gauge public sentiment and suppress dissent. Razavi, an Iranian-American, received calls from relatives in Iran who were "extremely reserved" and aware they could be monitored.
Kambiz Razmara, vice-president of the Australian-Iranian Society of Victoria, said many in the community suspect their calls are monitored, as conversations often disconnect when they touch on the troubles in Iran. "When you have phone-to-phone direct communication, the government can control that, which is what's happening at the moment," he stated.
Blackouts and a Desperate Search for Safety
The reports follow a severe nationwide internet shutdown imposed by the regime on 8 January, a tactic used to stifle protests and hide the government's violent response. The blackout forced the diaspora to rely on sporadic international calls, which are known to be monitored, to check if loved ones were alive.
While some Iranians have risked using Elon Musk's Starlink satellite system to share evidence of the regime's brutality, the primary flow of information has been severely restricted. The US-based Human Rights Activists news agency reports that more than 2,500 people have been killed, with unofficial estimates soaring as high as 12,000.
The protests, initially fuelled by economic crisis, have spiralled into a broad anti-government movement, with chants of "death to the dictator" aimed at Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. As the Australian Iranian community holds demonstrations and lives in a state of anxious vigilance, the open surveillance of family phone calls adds a deeply personal layer of fear to the ongoing crisis.
