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
SEPTEMBER 30, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Shahram Fazlollah Tabar executed in Sari on September 30
SEPTEMBER 30, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Ashraf Faraji and Shahram Fazlollah-Tabar executed in Sari on September 30
SEPTEMBER 30, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Jaber Khosravi Hanged in Damghan on September 30
SEPTEMBER 29, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Ehsan Norouzi executed in Kermanshah on September 29
SEPTEMBER 28, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Milad Zeinali executed in Ghezel-Hesar on September 28
SEPTEMBER 28, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mehrdad Sheikhi executed in Isfahan on September 28
SEPTEMBER 28, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - A woman, Mahrokh (Roghayeh) Mirzaei, executed in Isfahan on September 28
SEPTEMBER 28, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Shahin Babayi hanged in Tabriz on September 28
- SEPTEMBER 28, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Mehdi Ahangari executed in Malayer on September 28
SEPTEMBER 27, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 3 men hanged in Zanjan on September 27
Fateh Shafiei, Hassan Mehdipour, Aref Darousti
SEPTEMBER 26, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - A woman, Mahboubeh Shabani, sentenced to death
A 'protester'
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 3 men executed in Dezful, Isfahan and Ahvaz
Emad Mirdoraghi, Mostafa Karimzadeh, and Seyed Sadegh Mousavi
SEPTEMBER 24, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mohammad Naderi sentenced to Death
For espionage
- SEPTEMBER 23, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Emad Mirdoraghi and Mohammadreza Aziz-Haji executed in Dezful on September 23
SEPTEMBER 22, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 4 men executed in Ahvaz e Tabriz
Hossein Ghazlavi, Karim Majdam, Jalil Salamat, and Eskandar Heydarzadeh
SEPTEMBER 22, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Abdoljalil Bazrkaran executed in Ahvaz on September 22
SEPTEMBER 21, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Najmeh Amini sentenced to death for "insulting the Prophet"
SEPTEMBER 20, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hadi Hassanlu hanged in Shiraz on September 20
SEPTEMBER 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hossein Pedaran executed for espionage
15th Execution for Espionage in 2026
- SEPTEMBER 19, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Seyed Fazel Ghaseminejad executed in Shiraz on September 19
SEPTEMBER 18, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Amir Mohammad Mojallal Choubari sentenced to death
A 'protester'
SEPTEMBER 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Strikes on the fourth anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s killing
SEPTEMBER 17, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - IHR Report: List of More Than 4,200 People Killed in January 2026 Protests
- SEPTEMBER 16, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Nemat Maghami hanged in Ahvaz on September 16
- SEPTEMBER 16, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Mehrdad Asadi Hanged in Ghezel-Hesar on September 16
SEPTEMBER 14, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - A woman, Zeinab Rajabi, and Vahid Vafaei executed in Isfahan
SEPTEMBER 14, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Abdolrahim Narouei Rouzaneh executed in Isfahan on September 14
SEPTEMBER 14, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Abdolrahim Narouyi and Houshang Soltani executed in Isfahan
SEPTEMBER 14, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - A woman, Rezvan Asgharzadeh, executed in Isfahan on September 14
SEPTEMBER 13, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Farzad Ahmadpour executed in Jiroft on September 13