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
- AUGUST 17, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A senior Iranian cleric called for the execution of...
A senior Iranian cleric called for the execution of a university professor who claimed that Islamic fundamentalism had taken hold of the country's ruling elite
- AUGUST 9, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
The head of Iran's Assembly of Experts, Great Ayatollah...
The head of Iran's Assembly of Experts, Great Ayatollah Ali Meshkini, has sought the death penalty for a pro-reform journalist who allegedly insulted Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) in a speech in the western city of Hamedan
- AUGUST 5, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Two men were sentenced to death in Lavasan, Iran
Two men were sentenced to death in Lavasan, Iran
- AUGUST 5, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Two convicted Afghan rapists were publicly hanged in...
Two convicted Afghan rapists were publicly hanged in suburban Tehran for raping two Afghan girls
- AUGUST 3, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Emam Ali was sentenced to death in the Iranian capital...
Emam Ali was sentenced to death in the Iranian capital Tehran
- JULY 31, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A court in Shiraz, southern Iran, condemned Rahim S
A court in Shiraz, southern Iran, condemned Rahim S
- JULY 30, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Tehran courts sentenced two people to death
Tehran courts sentenced two people to death
- JULY 27, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Rohollah M
Rohollah M
- JULY 24, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Two men, one identified as Fatemeh, were sentenced...
Two men, one identified as Fatemeh, were sentenced to execution in Tehran
- JULY 24, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
The Iranian government spokesman Abdullah Ramezanzadeh...
The Iranian government spokesman Abdullah Ramezanzadeh rejected the Iraqi government assertions on arresting and execution of two individuals allegedly spying for Iran
- JULY 24, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A woman was sentenced to execution in Tehran
A woman was sentenced to execution in Tehran
- JULY 23, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
An Tehran court condemned a young man to death, the...
An Tehran court condemned a young man to death, the Khorasan daily reported
- JULY 22, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Aram A
Aram A
- JULY 21, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Three men were hanged in prison in Tehran
Three men were hanged in prison in Tehran
- JULY 21, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Ahmad Najafi was sentenced to death in Tehran
Ahmad Najafi was sentenced to death in Tehran
- JULY 20, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Three convicted murderers, Amir T
Three convicted murderers, Amir T
- JULY 18, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A carpenter who raped and killed his nephew will be...
A carpenter who raped and killed his nephew will be executed by being thrown off a cliff in a sack, said an Iranian newspaper
- JULY 15, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Massoud Parvizi was sentenced to death in Tehran
Massoud Parvizi was sentenced to death in Tehran
- JULY 14, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
An Iranian court in Neishabour condemned Davood to...
An Iranian court in Neishabour condemned Davood to death, the Khorasan daily reported
- JULY 11, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Parviz Azizi was condemned to die by a Tehran court,...
Parviz Azizi was condemned to die by a Tehran court, whilst Hossien was sentenced to execution by a court in Shahriar
- JULY 10, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Hossein N
Hossein N
- JULY 9, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A young man was sentenced to execution in the Iranian...
A young man was sentenced to execution in the Iranian capital Tehran
- JULY 8, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Zahra Shojaei, Iran's presidential adviser on women's...
Zahra Shojaei, Iran's presidential adviser on women's issues, defended the practice of stoning women to death for the crime of adultery, saying the punishment is correct under Islamic sharia law and protects the institution of the family
- JULY 8, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Zahra Shojaei, Iran's presidential adviser on women's...
Zahra Shojaei, Iran's presidential adviser on women's issues, defended the practice of stoning women to death for the crime of adultery, saying the punishment is correct under Islamic sharia law and protects the institution of the family
- JULY 6, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Reza P
Reza P
- JULY 5, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A court in the Iranian capital Tehran passed a death...
A court in the Iranian capital Tehran passed a death sentence on Farhad Rahmanpour
- JULY 4, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Shahram was condemned to die by a court in Tehran
Shahram was condemned to die by a court in Tehran
- JULY 3, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Two convicted armed robbers were hanged in public in...
Two convicted armed robbers were hanged in public in the central Isfahan city
- JULY 3, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Mohammad Ali A
Mohammad Ali A
- JULY 2, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
An Tehran court sentenced three men - Keyvan Razaghi,...
An Tehran court sentenced three men - Keyvan Razaghi, Kamran Razaghi and Hamdollah Zaheri - to death