One-sentence summary: Opposition sources say Tehran imported foreign militias to suppress protests—prompting protesters to organize local self-defense units.
Iranian opposition sources report that several days ago Iranian security forces summoned hundreds of fighters from armed Iraqi Shiite militias backed by Iran to help suppress the ongoing civil unrest.
According to the sources, Tehran has used this tactic in the past when it feared its own security personnel were not fully enforcing orders, allowing protesters to widen the chaos inside the country.
Opposition figures recall that in earlier uprisings—during the era of Hezbollah’s former secretary-general—elite fighters from Hezbollah were brought in from Lebanon to assist in repression. Protesters at the time said they could identify the foreign operatives because they spoke among themselves in non-Iranian dialects.
