The Islamic Republic of Iran is on track to exceed the record number of executions it carried out against opponents in 2025, with 657 executions in the first three months of the year, according to the Iran Human Rights Society.  

Hiding behind the war with the U.S. and Israel, critics say the regime appears desperate to eliminate opposition, particularly following anti-regime demonstrations that shook the nation's rulers and resulted in tens of thousands being murdered by the country's security forces and militias.

In March, the regime was met with condemnations, including from President Donald Trump, over the execution of 19-year-old wrestler Saleh Mohammadi.

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On Iran's latest killing spree, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "This latest barbaric act is more evidence of why the regime can never be allowed the advanced capabilities that we are destroying."

The United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mai Sato, said that since the start of the war at least six executions have taken place as of March 30 and noted on her X account that an additional two executions took place on March 31.

Sato described the regime’s known victims as protesters, an accused spy for Israel, and individuals charged with "armed rebellion" against the regime. Sato said that "due to the internet blackout, it is unclear who else has been executed or are at risk of execution." She said, "What is clear is that the death penalty is being used as a tool for suppressing political opposition in wartime conditions."

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The secretariat of the NCRI provided a written statement to Fox News Digital describing the recent executions of four members of the Iranian dissident organization People’s Mohahedin Organization of Iran (PMOE/MEK). The NCRI said members Mohammad Taghavi and Akbar Daneshvarkar were transferred from Ghezel Hesar prison on March 29 and executed the following morning. Four additional members of the group, Babak Alipour, Vahid Bani Amerian, Abolhassan Montazer and Pouya Ghobadi, were transferred as well. On March 31, the regime executed Alipour and Ghobadi.

Ali Safavi, a member of the NCRI’s Foreign Affairs Committee, called for "urgent action" to save the lives of Amerian and Montazer.

Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the NCRI, posted on X that the execution conducted on March 31 "reflects the clerical regime’s fear and desperation." She called on the United Nations and its member states to engage in "practical and effective measures, including the closure of embassies and the expulsion of the regime’s terrorist diplomats and agents."

Before the Islamic Republic killed thousands of its own people during January protests, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that the Islamic Republic carried out "at least" 1,500 executions in 2025. According to the high commissioner, "the scale and pace of executions suggest a systematic use of capital punishment as a tool of State intimidation, with disproportionate impact on ethnic minorities and migrants."

Amnesty International has raised similar concerns, and additionally noted that five "young protesters" now "face the imminent risk of execution," having been transferred from Ghezal Hesar "to an unidentified location" as of March 31.

Israeli officials are warning that Iran’s ongoing internet blackout is shaping the battlefield in ways that extend far beyond cyberspace, limiting visibility into the impact of U.S. and Israeli strikes while tightening the regime’s grip on its own population.

Multiple Israeli sources told Fox News that the blackout is not only restricting information from leaving Iran but also preventing citizens from organizing internally, at a time when pressure on the regime is mounting. Attempts by civilians to access the internet through satellite services such as Starlink have been disrupted through jamming, according to Israeli officials, while hundreds of individuals suspected of using such terminals have been detained.

"This is a blackout on truth," a senior Israeli intelligence official told Fox News. "The regime is hiding reality from its own people. They don’t want the Iranian people to see how badly they’re getting hit." 

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The information vacuum inside Iran is being filled by state-controlled narratives, according to the official. 

"Iranians only know what they see on TV channels controlled by the Islamic regime, which falsely shows the U.S. and Israel being destroyed," the Israeli official said.

But the impact goes beyond perception. The blackout is also affecting behavior on the ground. 

"And it’s not just about what people see, it’s about what they can do," the official said. "Cutting the internet stops people from communicating, from sharing what’s really happening, and from organizing." 

The restrictions come as the Iranian regime faces both external military pressure and lingering internal unrest following a brutal crackdown earlier in 2026. In January, security forces opened fire on nationwide protests, with reports suggesting the toll could be more than 30,000 killed in a matter of days. 

Against that backdrop, Israeli officials say the blackout reflects the regime’s fear of renewed unrest. 

"The Iranian people are one of the things the regime fears most," the official said. "That’s why this blackout was such a priority."

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The result, according to Israeli officials, is a war that is unfolding largely out of public view. 

"This is one of the least visible wars in modern history because very little footage is coming out," the official said. "When this blackout is lifted, the full extent of the damage to the regime will become clear. Right now, we’re only seeing a small glimpse of just how badly they’re being decimated." 

Israeli sources also linked the blackout directly to high-value military targets. 

The U.S. and Israel, the official claims, "have taken out 25 senior commanders from the MOIS," referring to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence. 

"The majority (were) eliminated in the opening strike when they gathered for a meeting," the official said, adding that those targeted were involved in managing the blackout.

The official identified Esmail Khatib as among those killed, describing him as "the minister of Intelligence who was the guy who signed off on the blackout."

A senior U.S. administration official told Fox News Digital that, "President Trump wants a better life for the Iranian people — including unimpeded access to information. Unfortunately, the terrorist Iranian regime has a long, brutal history of oppressing its own people, but Operation Epic Fury continues to meet or surpass all of its benchmarks, and the entire region will be safer and more stable once these actions are complete."

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U.S. analysts say the information domain is becoming a central front in the conflict. 

John Spencer, executive director of the Urban Warfare Institute, wrote on X that "Iran has repeatedly shut down internet access to control its population. That capability can be reversed."

Spencer argued that external actors could shift the balance by targeting regime communications while enabling civilian connectivity. 

"Disrupt regime command networks while enabling connectivity for the population through external systems. Information becomes a weapon," he wrote. "Control of narrative, coordination, and awareness shifts away from the regime."

He also pointed to underlying instability inside Iran, noting that the country’s population is "over 85 million, young, urban, and repeatedly discontent," with protest activity suggesting that a significant portion opposes the regime.

"Until now, civilians have largely been told to shelter," Spencer wrote. "That could change."

Fox News Digital reached out to the Iranian mission to the United Nations, which responded, "no comment."

President Donald Trump signaled this week that the United States could take action on Cuba, raising new questions about what would happen if mounting pressure triggers a political shift on the island.

The warning comes as Cuba faces one of its most severe internal crises in decades, with a collapsing economy, widespread blackouts and fuel shortages straining the regime’s ability to govern. The situation has worsened as shipments of subsidized fuel from Venezuela have declined, cutting off a key energy lifeline.

But as pressure builds from both inside and outside the island, experts say the central question is not who could replace President Miguel Díaz-Canel — it’s that there is no clear successor at all.

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"Cuba’s leadership vacuum is the result of a system that has spent decades making sure no independent leadership can exist in the first place," Melissa Ford Maldonado, AFPI director of the Western Hemisphere Initiative, told Fox News Digital.

She added that the regime has "controlled communication, restricted the gathering of people, surveilled its own people, killed press freedom, criminalized dissent and ultimately made a powerful opposition force highly unlikely."

"Who replaces Díaz-Canel is more symbolic than anything else," Sebastián A. Arcos, interim director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University, told Fox News Digital.

Arcos said Díaz-Canel "has very little power," describing him as a figure installed to project a younger image without altering the system.

"The key person continues to be Raúl Castro," he said, referring to the 94-year-old former Cuban leader.

That dynamic, analysts argue, explains why even a dramatic shift — whether driven by internal collapse or external pressure — may not immediately produce a new leader.

And yet a small group of insiders, technocrats and opposition figures are seen as potential players in any transition — though none represent a clear or unified alternative.

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A relatively unknown figure to most Cubans, Óscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga has quietly risen through the ranks.

The 54-year-old electronics engineer serves as deputy prime minister and minister of foreign trade and foreign investment, and is the great-nephew of Fidel and Raúl Castro.

"He’s part of the family," Arcos said, underscoring how even emerging figures remain embedded within the same ruling network.

Arcos said his rapid rise makes him one of the more plausible faces of a controlled transition.

"He might be a good technocrat… based on the standards of the Castro system," he said.

But any such move would likely be cosmetic. "They might take Díaz-Canel down and replace him with someone like Pérez-Oliva… as a gesture… but it doesn’t change anything," Arcos said, explaining it would be a technocratic reshuffle designed to ease pressure, not reform the system.

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Raúl Castro’s son, Alejandro Castro Espín, represents the regime’s security backbone.

A longtime intelligence official, he is closely tied to Cuba’s internal security apparatus and the inner circle of power, according to El País.

While not publicly positioned as a successor, his influence underscores how power remains concentrated within the Castro family and military-linked elite, which experts say could lead to a hardline continuity scenario rooted in security control.

Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz remains one of the most visible figures in Cuba’s current leadership.

But Arcos noted that Marrero’s tenure is deeply tied to the country’s economic collapse. "He’s been there during this dramatic decline… so he’s closely associated with the catastrophe," he said.

Experts cited by El País similarly assess that figures like Marrero are unlikely to represent meaningful change, and that he represents continuity tied to the current crisis, with little credibility for reform.

As a senior Communist Party official, Roberto Morales Ojeda represents the regime’s institutional core. His power lies within the party apparatus, enforcing loyalty and ideological control.

Like other insiders, he is seen as part of the continuity model rather than a break from it.

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While regime insiders dominate succession discussions, opposition figures remain largely outside the island.

Rosa María Payá, a prominent activist and founder of Cuba Decide, has emerged as a leading voice for democratic change from exile.

"The Cuban opposition is organized, we are present both inside Cuba and in the diaspora, and we have a concrete plan," Rosa María Payá told Fox News Digital. "Cubans do not need to be liberated from the outside and handed a government. We are ready to lead. What we need is for the United States and the international community to ensure that when this regime falls, the opposition has a seat at the table."

"The first priority is political prisoners and guaranteeing basic civil liberties," she described their plan. "They must be released immediately, and that has to be a non-negotiable condition of any agreement. The second is dismantling the repressive apparatus… From there, the plan moves to a transitional government, addressing the humanitarian situation and setting a clear timeline toward free and internationally monitored elections."

Arcos spoke positively about Payá role and the broader opposition movement. "They are honorable, respectful, smart people, who want the best for Cuba," he said. "They’re not just seeking power… they’re doing this based on a sense of duty."

Still, analysts caution that the system leaves little room for an opposition-led transition in the near term.

"The reality is that much of Cuba’s real opposition no longer lives on the island," Ford Maldonado said, noting that repression has pushed leadership into exile.

Despite speculation around individual names, experts say the real issue is structural.

"If Raúl dies tomorrow, that could open the Pandora’s box," Arcos said, suggesting internal power struggles could surface.

Even then, he warned, the regime is unlikely to relinquish control easily after decades in power.

"There’s likely no real path forward that runs through the Castros or the current regime," Ford Maldonado said.

For now, Cuba’s succession question remains unresolved, not because there are no names, but because the system itself was designed to ensure there is no true alternative waiting in the wings.

Protesters attacked a Communist Party headquarters in Cuba overnight, ransacking the building and attempting to set it on fire, and video appeared to capture gunfire and a man on the ground outside, according to footage obtained by Fox News Digital.

Cuban state media later denied that anyone had been struck by police gunfire and announced five arrests.

Dramatic footage shows a large crowd gathered outside the building in the city of Morón as a fire burns in the street and protesters throw burning objects at the building.

Protesters can be heard chanting "Libertad, libertad!" — Spanish for "Freedom, freedom!" — moments before gunfire rings out in the video.

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A young man appears to collapse as others nearby scream in Spanish. 

"They shot him! They’re shooting! They said they wouldn’t shoot, but they shot him."

The video then shows people carrying the injured man away.

In another video obtained by Fox News Digital, large crowds can march through Morón’s unlit streets before unrest spread to the Communist Party headquarters.

Morón is located on Cuba's northern coast about 250 miles east of the capital of Havana near the tourist resort of Cayo Coco.

"The image circulating shows the scene of the protest, but it's important for the public to know the truth: no one was injured by gunfire," state media outlet Vanguardia de Cuba said on X.

"Media manipulation seeks to sow fear and confusion among our people. Let's not fall for provocations."

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State media said police had detained five people and that a "drunken" participant fell and was being treated for injuries at a hospital.

Over the past week, several small groups of residents across Havana have banged pots in protest against extended blackouts.

Cuba has faced rolling blackouts, food shortages and renewed protests tied to the island’s worsening energy and economic crisis.

A recent nationwide blackout was triggered by a failure at the Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Power Plant, the island’s largest power station, cutting electricity across much of the country, according to Reuters.

The crisis has been compounded by fuel shortages after the Trump administration moved to curtail oil shipments to the island, particularly from Venezuela, one of Cuba’s main suppliers.

Cuban officials say U.S. sanctions have worsened the country’s economic difficulties, while repeated power plant failures and an aging electrical grid have left millions facing prolonged blackouts that have fueled growing public frustration and protests.

"What initially began peacefully, and after an exchange with local authorities, turned into acts of vandalism against the headquarters of the Municipal Party Committee," the state-run Invasor newspaper reported, according to Reuters.

"A smaller group of people stoned the entrance of the building and started a fire in the street with furniture from the reception area."

Vandals also targeted several other state-run establishments in the area, including a pharmacy and a government market, the report said.

On Friday, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said he was holding talks with the U.S. government, marking the first time the Caribbean country has confirmed widespread speculation about discussions with the Trump administration.

Díaz-Canel said that no petroleum shipments have arrived in Cuba in the past three months and blamed a U.S. energy blockade for that. He said the island is running on a mixture of natural gas, solar power and thermoelectric plants.

Fox News’ Efrat Lachter, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.