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
- 9,142
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 9,142 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
- JANUARY 18, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Five identified among killed protesters
Hamid Arzanlou, Vahid Arzanlou, Mohammadreza Entezami, Milad Gholami, Ali Sadeghi
JANUARY 18, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Amir Naderi and Saman Fattahi killed during protests
JANUARY 18, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 13 men executed on January 18, and 4 on January 17
167 executions since the beginning of the year
JANUARY 18, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 3 of a family killed in Fardis
Omid Teymourirad, Amir Teymourirad, Armin Teymourirad
JANUARY 18, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Kian Manouchehri executed in Yazd on January 18
JANUARY 18, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 7 of the victims of the protests identified
Mehran Rafiei, Shahin Azar-Atash, Mostafa Tabrizi, Houman Sabbagh, Afshin Miyarkiani, Matin Montazerzohour, Sina Haghshenas
JANUARY 18, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Identities of four killed protesters
Morteza Shaneh, Parsa Saffar, Hamid Mahdavi, Abbasali Ramezani
JANUARY 18, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 3 people killed in Tehran protests identified
Nasir Nasiri, Arsalan Ghahramani, and Omid Saeedi
JANUARY 18, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Five people killed in Tehran protests identified
Hamid Arzanlou, Vahid Arzanlou, Mohammadreza Entezami, Milad Gholami, Ali Sadeghi
JANUARY 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Identities of three additional protesters killed in Isfahan verified
Farzin Poostashkan Dorki, Sina Saranoush, Pedram Saeedi
JANUARY 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Shirzad Balayi and Fardin Fuladi shot dead by Iranian forces
JANUARY 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Tiam Kiani-Manesh dies after exposure to tear gas
JANUARY 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Borna Dehghani, 17-year-old, killed during protests
JANUARY 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Shayan Azadi and Qasem Vakili shot dead in Karaj and Qazvin
JANUARY 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hrana Report on 21st day of protests: 3,097 protesters killed
Islamic Republic’s Leader Acknowledges “Thousands Killed” as Internet Shutdown Continues
JANUARY 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Kamran Akbari killed during protests in Kermanshah
JANUARY 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - IHR Report on 21st day of protests: 3,428 protesters killed
It is estimated that thousands of protesters have been killed on 8 and 9 January
JANUARY 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Kheirullah Goljani and Kamran Manafi executed in Qazvin on January 17
JANUARY 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN Hrana report on 20th day of protests: 3,090 deaths confirmed
Another 3,880 cases are under scrutiny
JANUARY 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Six more women, one pregnant, killed in Iran’s crackdown
Sholeh Sotoudeh, Sara Behboodi, Ziba Dastjerdi, Zahra Bagheri, Sanam Pourbabayi, Aida Aghili
JANUARY 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Seven more minors killed in Iran protests
Amir Mohammad Arbabpouri, Melina Asadi, Sam Afshari, Abolfazl Heydari-Moslou, Mohammad Ghasem-Rousta, Mehrab Golestani, Amir Salar Bahmaninejad
JANUARY 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Identities of six more people killed in Tehran protests verified
Behnam Darvish, Mehrdad Yaghoubi Mehr, Ali Behroozdoust, Hossein Naseri, Masoud Bolourchi, Ahmad Abbasi
JANUARY 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 10 men killed during protests identified
Aria Alidoust, Fardin Ghanbari, Mohammad Ebrahimi, Meysam Yaghoubi, Mohammad Honarkhah, Behzad Shafiei, as well as Meysam Khazini, Yadollah Heydari, Seyed Abolfazl Kia, Saeed Golsorkhi
- JANUARY 16, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Family of 3 killed in Karaj on January 9
Bijan Mostafavi, Zahra Bani-Amerian, Danial Mostafavi
JANUARY 16, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - IHR Report on 20th day of protests: 3,428 protester killed
JANUARY 16, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 52 executions between January 5 to 14
On murder and drug charges
JANUARY 16, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 46 NGOs urge UN Rights Council to hold emergency session
JANUARY 16, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Sirwan Aminpour, political asylum seeker, arrested in Norway and faces deportation to Iran
JANUARY 16, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Soran Feyzizadeh killed under torture in Bijar
JANUARY 16, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 4 women killed during protests identified
Semin Rostami, Samaneh Mirzaei, Shabnam Ferdowsi, Zahra Fazeli