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.