U.S. Foreign Policy and Iran

Human‑rights groups say Iran is operating a network of clandestine “black box” detention sites where tens of thousands of people swept up in recent protests are held off the books, with no judicial oversight, registration, or access to lawyers. The Center for Human Rights in Iran warns that detainees effectively disappear once moved out of the formal prison system, making them highly vulnerable to torture, sexual abuse, coerced confessions and death in custody; the sites are described as modeled on 1980s prison compounds at Ghezel Hesar where MEK‑affiliated women were forced into coffin‑like boxes, deprived of food and sleep, and beaten if they spoke. Families have been left camping outside courts and prisons that deny holding their relatives, while the precise number and locations of these facilities remain unknown by design. The report comes alongside a new spike in executions — HRANA says at least 17 prisoners were executed across Iran over two days — and separate findings that at least 24 children, including a 3‑year‑old, were killed by direct fire from security forces during nationwide protests in January 2026. For U.S. policymakers, the emerging picture of systematic secret detention, child killings and mass executions will feed into debates over sanctions, possible international investigations, and the Trump administration’s talk of regime change and military options against Tehran.