Iran extended the prison sentence of a Nobel peace laureate and detained several prominent reformist figures, escalating a crackdown on dissents weeks after security forces killed thousands of people to quell nationwide protests.

The weekend’s arrests came days after the Islamic Republic and the U.S. had indirect nuclear talks, the first since the 12-day war between Iran and Israel jettisoned earlier efforts to find a diplomatic solution to a standoff that’s rattled oil markets and regional security. The two parties sounded a positive note on conversations and agreed to hold a second round this week.

Narges Mohammadi, a leading women’s rights advocate and fierce critic of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran’s theocratic system, was sentenced to close to eight additional years in prison, according to a statement released by her foundation on Saturday. She has been arrested in December, in the northeastern city of Mashhad.

Iranian reformists Azar Mansouri Ebrahim Asgharzadeh and Mohsen Aminzadeh were arrested on Sunday, accused of violating Iran’s constitution, seeking to damage national stability and inciting unrest in coordination with “the Zionist regime and America,” the semi-official Fars news agency reported, citing an informed source. Fars is closely affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and often reflects the views and policies of hardline institutions that dominate the state.

Javad Emam, spokesman for a reformist organization representing veterans, was taken into custody in the early hours of Monday morning after police and intelligence officers raided his house, the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency reported, citing his lawyer.

The widening clampdown on critics comes at a critical time for Iran and the wider Middle East region, with attentions focused on indirect talks to de-escalate tensions and avert a military confrontation. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to strike the Islamic Republic over the extent of violence and killing used by security forces to suppress its own civilians.

Security forces are reported to have killed 6,476 protesters during two weeks of widespread demonstrations that erupted on Dec. 28, according to the latest tally compiled by U.S.-based Human Rights Activist News Agency. It’s also reviewing almost 12,000 reported cases of people killed by security forces.

Tens of thousands of people are thought to have been arrested during the protests and rights groups have said hundreds of individuals remain unaccounted for.

Mansouri, a member of a reformist faction that’s called for a complete overhaul of the Islamic Republic, has publicly rebuked Khamenei and the wider regime for the brutal handling of protests that erupted in late December. She had been arrested in 2009 after protesting the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Asgharzadeh is a former member of parliament and Tehran city councilor and Aminzadeh, also arrested in 2009, is a former deputy foreign minister under the government of reformist President Mohammad Khatami.

Mohammadi, who won the Nobel peace prize in 2023 and had been on hunger strike for the past week, has spent a total of 10 years in detention over multiple rounds of imprisonment, including a 135-day stint in solitary confinement, according to her lawyers.

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—With assistance from Arsalan Shahla.

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