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
- 9,218
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 9,218 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 20, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Saeed Tarvand killed in Abadan
JANUARY 20, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 5 killed in Isfahan
Mohammadreza Davashi Bakhtiari, Farshid Moradi, Ahmadreza Golkhani, Naser Mohedenia, Milad Koochaki
JANUARY 20, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Two women among five killed in Kermanshah
Melika Dastyab, Elham Zeinali, Hassan Fallahi, Elham Zeinali, Reza Darvishi, Mohammad Mehdi Badri
JANUARY 20, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Soldier sentenced to death for refusing to shoot protesters
Javid Khales
JANUARY 20, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 3 students killed
Amirali Zarei, Alireza Rafiei-Rad, Ali Zanganeh
JANUARY 20, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Identification of 6 victims in Tehran
Mani Safarpour, Alireza Rahimi, Amirhossein Sohrabi, Erfan Abdipour, Omid Fadakar, and Mohammad Nobakht
JANUARY 20, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Identities of five more Killed in Tehran
Meysam Khazaei, Shahrouz Mehrabi, Mohammadreza Avazpour, Majid Jalilian, Yashar Soltanirad
- JANUARY 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 3 men executed in Isfahan on January 6
Khodadad Mozafari, Ali Bahman and Hamid Jahangiri
JANUARY 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hrana Report on the 22nd day of protests. 3,685 protesters killed
8,949 additional deaths are still under investigation
JANUARY 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Jalil Milanouyi and Hossein Zabihzadeh killed during the protests
JANUARY 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - IHR Report on 23rd day of protests: 3,428 protesters confirmed killed
The real number could be between 5,000 and 20,000
JANUARY 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hrana Report on 23rd day of protests: 4,029 confirmed fatalities, 9,049 fatalities under review
Internet Blackout, Media Clampdown, and Cancellation of Davos Invitation
JANUARY 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 7 victims identified
Mohammad Jafarpoor, Amir Nadafi, Hamid Shahin, Masoud Faghihzadeh, Mohammad Ranjbar, Mehrad Sadeghi, Pezhman Amini
JANUARY 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Eight Gilaks among newly identified protest victims
Eshaq Qanbarnia, Abbas Arezu, Arash Hassani, Milad Mianehkhah, Emad Shoush, Erfan Azordeh, Omid Norouzi, Parsa Abyazi
JANUARY 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Three Kurds, including a 16-year-old, shot dead during protests
Mohammadreza Abdolrahmanzadeh, Yasin Elahi, Meysam Nazar
JANUARY 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Seven more women identified among those killed
Maedeh Moradikya, Arezu Abedi, Ghazal Aghaei Lindi, Farzaneh Tavakoli, Mona Hosseini, Sonia Salehirad, Nastaran Zaremanesh
- 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