Iran threatens to seize properties of critics in diaspora as regime tightens grip beyond its borders

The Iranian prosecutor's office threatened on Monday to confiscate the property of citizens living abroad who publicly support the US-Israeli war, a move targeting expatriates who took to the streets in Western cities to celebrate the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Reyhani Alireza left Iran five years ago, settled in Turkey, and built a business exporting Turkish goods back into the country she had fled. She thought the distance would be enough.

But despite cutting most ties, she still owned a family home inside Iran, inherited from her parents, and a small plot of land that she never sold.

"These properties are a psychological and social bond with home," said Alireza. "When you are told they could be confiscated because of a political opinion or a social media post, it means that the state is using your belongings and your family as leverage to silence you."

Iran estimates that about five million of its citizens live abroad, though some Iranian media outlets place the number closer to ten million, most residing in the United States and Western Europe.

In the weeks since a joint Israeli-US air campaign killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in late February, Iran's judiciary has moved to extend the regime's reach well beyond its borders, warning that citizens living overseas who are deemed to have collaborated with Washington or Tel Aviv, or to have publicly supported the strikes, could see their homes, land, business shares and bank accounts inside Iran confiscated.

The diaspora was formed in successive waves since the 1979 revolution, the Iran-Iraq war, and the economic pressures of the past two decades. Many retain deep economic ties to the country in the form of apartments, farmland, shares in businesses, and bank accounts.

The penalties under these laws range from asset freezes and property confiscation to, in cases involving alleged intelligence activity, execution.

Fear across borders

Activists who spoke to The New Arab said that authorities had begun monitoring the online activity of Iranians abroad, particularly those who posted statements or videos expressing support for the strikes.

For years, Sara Mirkhalili, an Iranian opposition figure living in France, said Tehran has viewed segments of the diaspora in Europe and the United States as a hub of opposition activity.

Those communities have grown more organized and influential over the past decade, particularly after the protest waves that swept Iran.

"We saw large demonstrations in Paris, Berlin, London, and other cities," Mirkhalili recounted. "Thousands of Iranians are demanding reform or regime change. The message the authorities want to send now is that political activity abroad will come at a price."

In France, she said, many Iranians still hold apartments, land, or shares in family enterprises inside Iran. Some even visit periodically.

"This puts many people before a painful choice," she said, "either preserve their properties and family ties inside Iran, or continue their opposition activity abroad."

Alireza, in Turkey, agreed, adding that the threat extended to parents or siblings inside Iran. She had spoken with a number of Iranians in Turkey and across Europe who had already begun considering the future of their holdings inside Iran.

Some were asking whether it was better to sell, if that was even possible. Others were attempting to transfer ownership to relatives still living in the country.

"People feel that owning property or land in Iran has become a political risk," Mirkhalili added.

The long arm

The announcement followed a wave of rallies by Iranian opposition figures in Paris, Berlin, and London after Khamenei's assassination. Demonstrators described the event as the beginning of a new political chapter, with some expressing support for the military campaign.

Iranian officials tried to justify the decision by calling the gatherings proof that "some members of the opposition abroad are collaborating with the enemies of the nation."

Hassan Ahmadian, an academic at the University of Tehran, explained that the state considers individuals and groups abroad who may support its adversaries or contribute to media campaigns against it as a threat to national security.

"Iran's espionage and hostile-cooperation laws have existed for years," Ahmadian said, "but recent amendments have broadened the definition of cooperation to include media activity and political expression abroad."

The decisions come at a time when Iranians at home are being urged to report suspected espionage activity through phone lines and local messaging services. The threat of being arrested had tightened after the June 2025 war, when penalties for cooperation with foreign adversaries were sharply increased.

In Germany, Amir Ali Mousavi, an Iranian opposition figure, said he had met Iranians following the news with deep anxiety. Some had even begun trying to transfer ownership to relatives.

"For many, these properties represent a lifetime of savings or a family legacy," he told TNA.

The policy, Mousavi argued, could damage Iran's own economy in the long run. Diaspora communities represent an important source of investment and financial remittances. If they conclude their assets are legally unsafe, they may withdraw their money entirely from Iran.

Mirkhalili agreed, warning that the policy could backfire. Rather than curbing opposition activity, it could push some activists toward greater organization and political work.

"Many Iranians in Europe see these threats as confirming their narrative that the regime uses security and legal instruments to suppress dissent," she explained. "This issue could itself become a new subject for the political and media campaigns led by the diaspora."

Fear across borders

Zahra Zariji, who works at the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), an Iranian human rights organisation, said the threat raised serious concerns under international law.

The legal framework the authorities were invoking, she said, was built on espionage and cooperation-with-hostile-states statutes that are broad and imprecise.

The term "cooperation with the enemy" could cover any political or media activity opposing the government, or even participation in a peaceful demonstration.

"This expansion in definition puts any citizen at serious legal risk," Zariji said, "especially if they hold property inside Iran."

Confiscation, she said, targeting one family member's political activity abroad could affect those still living inside the country, creating fear and psychological pressure across entire families.

Some individuals, she said, had told HRANA they had stopped communicating with relatives in Iran out of fear that their families would be targeted because of their political work.

"International human rights organisations," she said, "emphasise that any confiscation of property based on political opinion or peaceful activity constitutes a violation of international human rights standards. Iran is party to international treaties that protect freedom of expression and the right to property, and any application of confiscation laws must be precisely defined and subject to independent judicial process."

HRANA was also monitoring the psychological and social toll of these decisions. Zariji noted that Iranians living abroad now feel that their lives, property, or the safety of their families inside the country could become hostage to their political positions.

"The psychological and social toll of these decisions, over the long term, could isolate the Iranian diaspora from the interior and reduce the community's influence on politics and international public opinion," she concluded.

This story is produced in collaboration with Egab.