They Left Iran, but Now the Regime Is Seizing Their Assets to Silence Them

The retired couple in Iran first realized that something was wrong when their bank cards stopped working in early May. After inquiring with the authorities, they discovered that their assets had been frozen by order of the country’s intelligence ministry.

The couple learned, eventually, that they were being punished for the actions of their daughter Noushin Najafiragheb, who lived in Europe — specifically, for her social media posts opposing the Iranian government, according to another daughter, Mehrnoush Najafiragheb.

Across Iran, the government has used asset seizures as punishment for actions taken abroad. Homes and businesses have been seized, life savings raided, family heirlooms taken. When those targeted had little inside Iran themselves, the authorities went after their family members back home, interviews show.

As the Najafiragheb family pressed their case with the authorities, Mehrnoush said, they encountered dozens of other people facing the specter of losing their life’s savings as punishment for the actions of their relatives abroad.

“We realized we weren’t alone,” Ms. Najafiragheb recalled her mother telling her. She said her sister Noushin had declined to be interviewed to avoid further government pressure on her family.

The Iranian authorities have gone after critics of the government outside the country, in some cases freezing or seizing the bank accounts of their family members in Iran.Credit...Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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