Iran
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Retentionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 869
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 2,156
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · The 1999 figures for capital sentences and executions...
- News items in the archive
- 9,141
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
Iran is classified as Retentionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 869 executions in the country, against 2,156 the year before. The archive holds 9,141 news items on Iran, from 1999 to today.
Iran is one of the countries where the association records the highest number of executions each year. The usual method is hanging, and capital punishment applies to a wide list of offences: murder, drug offences, offences against state security, sexual offences, and charges such as moharebeh, enmity against God, which allow very broad application.
Many executions are never announced. They emerge from local sources, from human rights organisations and from families. For Iran, more than anywhere else, the archive's count is a documented minimum.
Latest news
FEBRUARY 23, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hrana Report: The Crimson Winter
A 50 Day Record of 2025–2026 Protests
FEBRUARY 23, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - At least 10 men executed on February 23
FEBRUARY 22, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Nirvana Torbatinezhad and her mother, Roqiyeh Amirkhani, arrested during a 40th day commemoration
FEBRUARY 22, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Habib Rasoulzadeh executed in Semnan on February 22
- FEBRUARY 22, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Mohammad Javad Masoumi executed in Ardabil on February 22
FEBRUARY 22, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Four women arrested
Shavar Karimzadeh, Farzaneh Fasihi, Saba Ahmadi, Fariba Ghahremani
FEBRUARY 21, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 19 people arrested for participating in 40th day commemorations
Lors in Khuzestan Province
FEBRUARY 21, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Victim Accounts: 17-Year-Old Bahareh Shahmehri Shot Dead by Sniper
FEBRUARY 21, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 11 men executed on February 21
FEBRUARY 21, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mehrdad Ghaeni executed in Qom on February 21
FEBRUARY 20, 2026United KingdomDEATH PENALTYIRAN - British Nationals Craig and Lindsay Foreman Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison
FEBRUARY 20, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Abdollah Poreki killed under torture
FEBRUARY 20, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Victim Accounts: Nighttime Burial of Mohammad Ranjbar Hosseinabadi
FEBRUARY 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Massive 40th-Day Gatherings Across Iran Challenge the Regime
FEBRUARY 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 26 Protesters Sentenced to Death, Hundreds More at Risk
FEBRUARY 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hassan Narouei executed in Sarakhs February 19
- FEBRUARY 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Execution of 8 Prisoners on February 19
FEBRUARY 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Javad Zarei executed in Torbat-e Heydarieh on February 19
FEBRUARY 18, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - More protests
On the occasion of traditional commemorations 40 days after the death
FEBRUARY 18, 2026TürkiyeDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Morteza Amiri and Shahrbanou Beykramiani could be deported from Turkey to Iran.
Turkey has a troubling tradition of collaboration with Iran.
FEBRUARY 18, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 40-Day Mourning Ceremonies Spark Renewed Protests
FEBRUARY 18, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Victim Accounts: Mohammad Rahmati’s Father Forced to Blame “Terrorists” for His Son’s Killing
FEBRUARY 18, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Sajad Ahmadi executed in Malayer on February 18
- FEBRUARY 18, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 13 men executed on February 18
- FEBRUARY 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 520 men and 8 women executed in Iran since the beginning of 2026
- FEBRUARY 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 12 prisoners executed on February 17
FEBRUARY 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Victim Accounts: Shahabeddin Sameni Killed by Sniper
- FEBRUARY 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 4 men executed on February 17
FEBRUARY 16, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Information about people arrested during the January 2026 riots
- FEBRUARY 16, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 12 men executed on February 16