# Exclusive: How Iran’s regime maintains its grip on power, insiders tell DW

https://mins.news/en/video/97003

- DW News, 2026-10-12 19:22 UTC
- World
- Original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDoBDnWMRZg

> How has Iran’s regime survived war, sanctions and repeated protests? Two defectors from its security apparatus describe how it recruits, rewards and controls those who keep it in power. DW’s investigative team spent months secretly communicating with a former intelligence officer and a former special forces commander, verifying their identities and testimony. They describe ideological conditioning, privileged business opportunities and restrictions extending to marriage.

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