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
- 9,147
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 9,147 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
NOVEMBER 18, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 5 men executed in Isfahan on November 18
Karvan Abdolaziz, Yahya Karami, Saman Abbasi, Akbar Faraji, Moslem Naderi
NOVEMBER 18, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Yahya Karami and Akbar Faraji executed in Isfahan on November 18
NOVEMBER 18, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - The 95th Week of the “Tuesdays Against Executions” Campaign
NOVEMBER 18, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mohammadjavad Rashidi executed in Bojnurd on November 18
NOVEMBER 17, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Alireza Keshavarz executed in Sabzevar on November 17
- NOVEMBER 17, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Reza Kamayi executed in Ahvaz on November 17
- NOVEMBER 17, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Javad Sattari + 1 executed in Taybad on November 17
- NOVEMBER 17, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Behzad Hasani executed in Gorgan on November 17
- NOVEMBER 17, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 4 men executed in Mashhad on November 17
Alimardan Barani + 3
- NOVEMBER 17, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Amir Farkhnezhad executed in Zanjan on November 17
- NOVEMBER 17, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Khodakaram Mardani executed in Malayer on November 17
- NOVEMBER 17, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Nima Goodarzi executed in Dorud on November 17
- NOVEMBER 17, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Behzad Hassani executed in Gorgan on November 17
- NOVEMBER 17, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Hesam Rahimkhani and Javad Moridan executed in Ahvaz on November 17
- NOVEMBER 17, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Mahmoud Azizi executed in Neyshabur on November 17
- NOVEMBER 17, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Unidentified man executed in Ferdows on November 17
NOVEMBER 17, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 3 men executed in Zanjan on November 17
Omid Farokhnezhad, Jahangir Hessari, Asad Pirbab
- NOVEMBER 17, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Amir Goodarzi executed in Dorud on November 17
- NOVEMBER 17, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Hamzeh Soltanpanah executed in Bukan on November 17
- NOVEMBER 16, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - … Yeganeh executed in Bam on November 16
NOVEMBER 16, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Shawkat Veysi, a woman, executed in Damghan on November 16
- NOVEMBER 16, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Seyed Ali Hashemi executed in Salmas on November 16
- NOVEMBER 16, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Habib Ezzati executed in Sanandaj on November 16
- NOVEMBER 16, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Mohammad Amin Safari executed in Bukan on November 16
- NOVEMBER 16, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Amin Shokarkhodaei executed in Arak on November 16
- NOVEMBER 16, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Yasin Esfandiari executed in Semnan on November 16
- NOVEMBER 16, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Unidentified man executed in Nahavand on November 16
- NOVEMBER 16, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Mosib Khalavand executed in Bandar Abbas on November 16
- NOVEMBER 16, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Sajad Habibi and Mohammadreza Basharat executed in Qazvin on November 16
NOVEMBER 15, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Jaber Saki and Jahan Rasouli executed in Dezful on November 15