A court in Iran has sentenced Mohammad-Javad Mahkak Yazdi, a Shiite cleric, to seven years in prison after he publicly denounced the Islamic Republic’s regional military interventions and aired statements interpreted as sympathetic to Israel, according to an Iran Wire report published Monday. The verdict, which includes charges such as ‘supporting Israel,’ ‘prohibited propaganda,’ and ‘insulting’ current and former Supreme Leaders, underscores Tehran’s increasingly severe approach to domestic dissent, especially regarding its foreign policy and relations with Israel.
Legal documents show that Yazdi’s sentence was divided as follows: four years for the crime of ‘supporting Israel,’ one year for ‘prohibited propaganda,’ and two years for ‘insulting Khomeini and Khamenei,’ the founder of the Islamic Republic and his successor, respectively. Authorities cited his statements criticizing the state’s policy of encouraging martyrdom through proxy conflicts, demanding that regime leaders send their own children to frontlines in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.
Yazdi’s prosecution occurs against the backdrop of Iran’s expanded regional influence, most acutely via its alliances with terror organizations including Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, sectarian militia in Iraq, and Hamas—each receiving funding, arms, and training from Tehran. These Iranian-backed networks, collectively referred to as the ‘Axis of Resistance,’ are central to Iran’s declared strategy of confronting Israel militarily and through persistent destabilization in the Middle East.
Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran’s leadership has prioritized exporting its revolutionary ideology through armed movements and terror proxies, all aimed at threatening Israeli citizens and Western interests. The regime’s policy was thrown into sharp relief following the October 7, 2023 massacre—the deadliest antisemitic atrocity since the Holocaust—committed by Iran-backed Hamas terrorists against Israelis. This attack, marked by murder, torture, and abductions of civilians, reinforced the direct line between Iran’s regional ambitions and the ongoing security risks to Israel.
Domestically, dissenting voices like Yazdi’s have become targets for intense judicial and extra-legal repression. Analysts note that accusations of ‘supporting Israel,’ frequently levied for speech critical of Iran’s anti-Israel stance or regional adventurism, carry special weight and help the regime justify harsh penalties. Human rights organizations and Western governments regularly denounce such sentences, highlighting how charges serve as cover for suppressing political opposition and stifling calls for reform within clerical and lay communities alike.
The Iranian judiciary, dominated by conservative hardliners, routinely convicts critics on charges combining national security, religious insult, and spreading disinformation—effectively criminalizing dissent and debate within the Islamic Republic. Amnesty International and other advocacy groups have reported sharp upswings in arbitrary detentions, unfair trials, and severe punishments for both secular and religious critics who challenge the political status quo, particularly those raising questions about the cost—in Iranian lives and fiscal resources—incurred by Tehran’s foreign wars.
Yazdi’s comments about martyrdom struck a nerve with Iranian authorities. By urging the regime’s elite to place their own children on the battlefield, he exposed perceived hypocrisy at the heart of the state’s ideology, where sacrifices are demanded of the underprivileged while the children of leadership often avoid direct threat or loss. Observers inside and outside Iran interpret such rare acts of candor from within the clerical establishment as especially threatening to government legitimacy.
His harsh sentencing highlights the regime’s sensitivity to clerical dissent. Historically, the state has viewed independent-minded clerics as dangerous not only for their doctrinal authority but also their ability to mobilize public opinion without secular taint. Penalties for such religious figures send a clear message to others that challenging political dogma is unacceptable, no matter one’s position within the religious hierarchy.
This domestic crackdown is inextricably linked to the regime’s external aggression. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), itself designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States, operates both as the regime’s main tool of oppression at home and principal sponsor of terror abroad. The same structures tasked with quelling dissent against proxy wars are also responsible for orchestrating and resourcing operations targeting Israel as well as Western and Arab states.
Increasing frustration among Iran’s population is visible in calls for accountability for elite decision-makers. Critics question why national assets are sacrificed for proxy subsidization while the Iranian economy languishes under international sanctions and mismanagement. A growing number of Iranians, especially younger generations, voice skepticism over the official vilification of Israel and resistance rhetoric, pressing instead for domestic reform, greater freedoms, and reintegration into the international community.
International responses have included condemnations from major human rights organizations. Amnesty International’s latest country report emphasizes a surge in sentences and executions for activities considered oppositional, especially against dissidents who scrutinize regime policies on Israel and the Axis of Resistance. Western diplomats and rights advocates argue that lasting regional security requires both confronting Iran’s terror proxies and defending the rights of Iranians to speak out against their leaders’ war policies without fear of imprisonment or worse.
As Israel continues to defend itself in the aftermath of the October 7 massacre and ongoing rocket and drone campaigns by Iran’s partners, the world is increasingly aware of the ways Tehran’s domestic repression and external aggression form two sides of the same authoritarian project. Yazdi’s case—his sentencing, silence of dissent, and the bravery it required to challenge the regime—epitomizes the internal fault lines threatening to erode the Islamic Republic’s grip on power.
Many Iranians in exile, as well as activists within the country, have called for sustained international pressure on Tehran to release all prisoners of conscience. They emphasize that the future stability of the Middle East, and prospects for peace with Israel, are strengthened whenever the voices of ordinary Iranians and courageous dissenters are protected rather than silenced.
Yazdi’s imprisonment, the latest in a pattern of severe penalties for regime critics, reflects broader struggles over Iran’s identity, future, and the consequences of its foreign and domestic priorities—a reality with direct consequences for Israel’s security and the prospects for a more peaceful region.
