Deserters executed, and proof Iran’s regime could still crumble: DAVID PATRIKARAKOS exposes the Mullahs’ potentially fatal weakness…

The body lies dismembered in the street. The wounds are brutal but calculated. This is beyond sadism. This is a message.

At first glance, there is another Iranian who lost his life in an environment of indiscriminate violence by the state. Death is a tragedy, as always, but unfortunately it is part of daily life in the Islamic Republic.

But this is different: not an Iranian protester lying in the ground for all to see, but an officer in the regime’s first and last line of defense: the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Since the US-Israeli attacks on Iran began on February 28, I have been in contact with a source working with Western intelligence inside the country.

And what they revealed to me is something extraordinary: Amid the chaos and fury of the war in Iran, the state’s most brutal security forces are not only infiltrated by enemy services and in disarray, but they are also attacking each other. ‘Reports over the last four days paint a picture that Iran’s security apparatus is under severe and increasing internal tension,’ says my source.

‘More than 60 incidents have been documented in nearly every branch of the regime’s military and security apparatus, spanning multiple regions simultaneously.

‘This body was found on the street the other day,’ they add. ‘And this is certainly not an isolated incident. “There are numerous reports of Revolutionary Guard soldiers being executed for desertion,” he continues. ‘This happens all the time. Revolutionary Guard leaders also regularly execute their subordinates for refusing to follow orders.’ They add that this is ‘not an isolated turbulence but a nationwide situation.’

Executions reportedly occur within Iran’s military and security forces, with personnel from many branches sometimes executed on the spot at their own bases.

The killings are often carried out under secret orders and are so tightly classified that even his fellow officers are kept in the dark.

Rescuers search for survivors under rubble after attack in Tehran, southern Iran

At the same time, corpses of regime officials bearing signs of torture are thrown into the streets and other public places. The victims come from Iran’s security apparatus, including intelligence officers, naval personnel and members of the regular military. Opposition groups are believed to be responsible for some of the killings.

The message is clear: The regime is under attack from all sides.

Even Iranian missile teams are infiltrated and their equipment is reported to mysteriously ‘break down’ from time to time. Authorities suspect sabotage, and investigations, arrests, and more executions follow. Security forces are exposed to such great danger that they are being turned inside out. Paranoia is at an all-time high.

The Iran War sparked outrage among many critics. Even those more sympathetic to the need to eliminate this evil regime questioned the lack of clear objectives or planning in the war.

As we saw with the replacement of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by his son, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, a regime change beyond the inner circle of the state seems impossible for now.

But it remains the goal.

In a video message released on February 28, the day the attacks began, Trump urged Iranians to seize the moment.

‘The hour of your freedom is approaching,’ he told them. ‘When we’re done, take over your government. Now is the time to take control of your destiny.’

There is little sign of this so far. People are mostly trapped in their homes as US and Israeli airstrikes continue to hit Iran.

Trips to the streets and shops are few and mostly for basic needs, and penalties for those who step out of line are swift.

“If anyone comes forward in line with the enemy’s wishes, we will no longer see him as just a protester, but as an enemy,” national police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said in comments published by state broadcaster IRIB. ‘And we will do to them the same thing we do to an enemy… all our forces are ready with their hands on the trigger.’

My source confirms this. ‘The atmosphere on the streets is still gloomy,’ they say. ‘There is extremely heavy pressure on all sides. There are checkpoints all over Tehran. People are being beaten, investigated and detained.’ But as the days pass, a clear plan begins to emerge, at least tactically.

Smoke rises after an explosion as participants carry Iranian flags and banners during the World Quds Day march in Tehran, Iran, on March 13, 2026.

The first wave of attacks destroyed Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and as many of the leaders as possible. What followed were broader attacks on Revolutionary Guard facilities and Iran’s powerful ballistic missile capability. In recent days, strikes have also begun to hit the Basij and checkpoints, street thugs of the Revolutionary Guard.

What is now clear is that the main purpose of America and Israel’s plan is to do what they can to help the people get back on their feet after the bombings stop.

Even now, amid relentless attacks, there are still signs of dissent. ‘There was an attempt to hold a large rally in Tehran last week,’ my security source said. ‘But the city collapsed because it was filled with security forces. But still the regime does not have full control.’

Attacks by the limited opposition able to operate mean security officials are on guard. ‘For these reasons, regime forces fear a mobilized population rather than airstrikes,’ says my source.

For now, the bombings are brutal; Much of Iran has turned into hell and people are terrified. A friend of mine, whom I will call Mahmoud, who lives in Tehran, was outspoken. ‘It’s terrible,’ he told me. ‘The bombs are very loud and we hear them throughout the night. I try to get together with my family and tell them that we will be okay. We are very afraid. This is a terrible war. But we hope the Americans will succeed.’

Will there be regime change? I ask Baqer, a 45-year-old office worker. ‘Little seems to have changed now,’ he says, referring to Mojtaba’s accession to the leadership. ‘But we hope that when this war is over the regime will be much weaker. One day Trump and Netanyahu will finish the job. Then believe me, our time will come.’

While this once seemed fanciful, intelligence assessments are becoming more optimistic, despite rising oil and gas costs resulting from Iran’s pressure on supplies.

Not least because another growing source of chaos is the regime’s failure to pay its thugs. Across Iran, soldiers and security personnel from various branches reportedly staged protests, threatened to leave their posts, and in some cases deserted after months of unpaid salaries and pensions. Critically, anger is spreading through the ranks, from ordinary soldiers to senior officers. Instead of responding to the mounting financial crisis, authorities are doing what they always do: attacking. The result is more surveillance, more intimidation, more punishment.

The effect is only to create further resentment among the forces the regime relies on to keep it in place. ‘Staff in more than one branch [of the Revolutionary Guard] They escaped or attempted to escape. A manhunt was launched for the missing members and the families of those who escaped were placed under house arrest. My source reported that resignation requests in multiple provinces were rejected outright, in some cases under open threat. ‘The point is that all this paves the way for uprisings in the future,’ they conclude.

‘When the smoke clears, people will be surprised at how broken the regime’s terror machine is. It’s only a matter of time before it starts to fall apart.

‘No one seems to understand how much trouble the regime is in right now.’