Iran has created an online portal to report critics living abroad, Iranian media reported.
The surveillance system, named “Alaj” (Healing), aims to identify “traitors,” according to the reports. It was officially established to “protect national security.”
“Betraying Iran has a price and carries legal consequences,” the Fars news agency wrote on Monday.
According to the reports, Iranians can use the web portal as well as social media channels to report on the alleged traitors. The identity of informants would be kept confidential, the reports said.
How widely the portal will be used in future remains entirely unclear, although there are fears it will lead to increased mistrust within the Iranian diaspora community.
An estimated 4 million people with Iranian citizenship or an Iranian family background live abroad, according to various estimates. Many of them left the country for political reasons.
The reach of the Iranian security apparatus into Europe and the United States has long meant that Iranians abroad can find it difficult to trust one another.
The Iran war has further heightened mistrust and informing on others. The Alaj surveillance portal specifies supporters of military strikes against Iran and of sanctions against the country as potential traitors.
According to the website, 600 people have already been reported by members of the public. The identities of some Iranians living abroad have been published on the portal.