Oh good, another government discovered that the best way to handle protests about authoritarianism is more authoritarianism. Shocking development there.

Iran has executed Saleh Mohammadi, a teenager and member of the country's national wrestling team, for his alleged role in killing police officers during the ongoing anti-government protests. According to the BBC, "Saleh Mohammadi, a member of Iran's national wrestling team, was found guilty of killing police officers alongside two other men, state media say."

Because nothing says 'we're the good guys' like executing teenagers. Mohammadi's crime, according to state media, was participating in protests that turned deadly. The same protests that began as a response to the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody for the crime of wearing her hijab incorrectly. The irony would be delicious if it weren't written in blood.

I've covered enough authoritarian crackdowns to know the playbook by heart. Step one: peaceful protests emerge. Step two: escalate violence against protesters. Step three: when protesters fight back, call them terrorists. Step four: execute them as examples. Iran's just running the standard script, except they're doing it to their own Olympic-level athletes now.

This isn't just about one wrestler. This is about a regime so threatened by its own people that it's willing to execute the young men and women who represent the country on international stages. Mohammadi trained his body to compete for Iran's honor abroad, and Iran's response was to destroy that body for demanding basic human dignity at home.

The execution comes as Iran continues its systematic crackdown on the protests that have shaken the Islamic Republic since Mahsa Amini's death in September 2022. Hundreds have been killed. Thousands imprisoned. And now, they're moving to the final phase: state-sanctioned murder as deterrence. Because apparently beating protesters to death in the streets wasn't sending a clear enough message.

Here's what kills me about this story: somewhere in Tehran, there's probably a wrestling coach who trained Mohammadi, who watched him grow from a kid with potential into a national team member. And now that coach has to live in a country that executed his student for wanting basic human rights. That's the Iran the mullahs are building – one that devours its own children.