{"id":387321,"date":"2026-10-12T22:00:38","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T21:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsisc.com\/videos\/exclusive-how-irans-regime-keeps-its-grip-on-power-insiders-speak-to-dw\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T22:00:38","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T21:00:38","slug":"exclusive-how-irans-regime-keeps-its-grip-on-power-insiders-speak-to-dw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsisc.com\/videos\/exclusive-how-irans-regime-keeps-its-grip-on-power-insiders-speak-to-dw\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive: How Iran\u2019s regime keeps its grip on power: Insiders speak to DW"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.ytimg.com\/vi\/pDoBDnWMRZg\/hqdefault.jpg\" alt=\"Exclusive: How Iran\u2019s regime keeps its grip on power: Insiders speak to DW\"><br \/> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pDoBDnWMRZg\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe> <\/p>\n<p>How has Iran\u2019s regime survived war, sanctions and repeated waves of protest? Two defectors from its security apparatus describe how it recruits, rewards and controls the men who keep it in power.<\/p>\n<p>DW\u2019s investigative team spent months secretly corresponding with a former intelligence officer and a former special forces commander, corroborating their identities and testimony. They describe ideological conditioning, privileged access to business opportunities and restrictions reaching into marriage, travel and their children\u2019s education.<\/p>\n<p>Confidential documents obtained by DW also reveal the structure and weaponry of forces deployed during protests. Amnesty International\u2019s Iran researcher examines what those documents show about lethal repression.<\/p>\n<p>DW investigative journalist Birgitta Schuelke explains how the team verified its sources and what it learned about Iran\u2019s security apparatus.<br \/>\nThe Iranian Embassy in Berlin rejected the allegations and conclusions. The Supreme Leader\u2019s Office did not respond.<\/p>\n<p>Don&#8217;t miss DW Investigative&#8217;s long-form report on this exclusive story.<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Inside Iran&amp;apos;s secret security state - Two defectors break their silence | DW Documentary\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BidQjWzdR8U?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Chapters: <\/p>\n<p>00:00 DW investigation examines how Iran&#8217;s regime maintains its grip on power <\/p>\n<p>00:40 Former intelligence operative and defector from Iran&#8217;s security apparatus  <\/p>\n<p>01:27 How Iran recruits and indoctrinates members of its security forces  <\/p>\n<p>01:44 Former commander in Iran&#8217;s elite special forces and defector <\/p>\n<p>02:17 Privilege, control and life inside Iran&#8217;s loyal security elite  <\/p>\n<p>02:59 How the regime&#8217;s security system suppresses opposition and protests <\/p>\n<p>03:42 Raha Bahraini, Iran researcher at Amnesty International, on documents revealing protest crackdowns  <\/p>\n<p>04:24 Why former insiders decided to expose the regime&#8217;s methods [ <\/p>\n<p>05:35 Interview: Brigitta Sch\u00fclke, DW journalist and member of the investigative team <\/p>\n<p>07:11 New details on protest command centers, surveillance and plainclothes agents  <\/p>\n<p>09:24 Alleged clandestine operations, political killings and the secretive &quot;Dachma&quot; network <\/p>\n<p>For more news go to: http:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/<\/p>\n<p>Follow DW on social media:<br \/>\n\u25baInstagram: https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dwnews<br \/>\n\u25baTikTok: https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@dwnews<br \/>\n\u25baFacebook: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/deutschewellenews\/<br \/>\n\u25baTwitter: https:\/\/twitter.com\/dwnews<br \/>\n\u25baReddit: https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/user\/DWNews\/<\/p>\n<p>F\u00fcr Videos in deutscher Sprache besuchen Sie: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/dwdeutsch<\/p>\n<p>Subscribe: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/deutschewelleenglish?sub_confirmation=1<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How has Iran\u2019s regime survived war, sanctions and repeated waves of protest? Two defectors from its security apparatus describe how it recruits, rewards and controls the men who keep it in power. DW\u2019s investigative team spent months secretly corresponding with a former intelligence officer and a former special forces commander, corroborating their identities and testimony. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":387322,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[130889],"tags":[],"actors":[],"class_list":["post-387321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dw-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Exclusive: How Iran\u2019s regime keeps its grip on power: Insiders speak to DW | News ISC Videos<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Watch Exclusive: How Iran\u2019s regime keeps its grip on power: Insiders speak to DW for free, here on News ISC. 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