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
- 8,610
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 8,610 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
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IRAN - Rouhollah Gahramani executed in Tabriz on May 21
- MAY 21, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 3 men executed in Karaj on May 21
Alim Barahouyi, Morteza Arayeshgar and Jahanshah Afshari
- MAY 21, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN Mohammadreza Beiki Firoozabadi executed on May 21
In unspecified prison, Yazd probably
MAY 21, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Three men executed in Birjand on May 21
Naser Dahar, Ghanbar Ghaffari, Nooreddin Mohammadzadeh
MAY 21, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 4 men executed in Isfahan on May 11, 14, and 21
Mohammad Amin Kolsoomi, Jafar Ghorbani, Mohammad Naeim Daneshi and Jaber Shehkaramzehi
MAY 21, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Yasin Hosseinzadeh executed in Tehran on May 21
MAY 21, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Jahanshah Afshari and Aleem Barahoee executed in Ghezel Hesar on May 21
MAY 21, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Saeed Kashani executed in Hamedan on May 21
MAY 21, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Abdolrahim Nazari executed in Zahedan on May 21
MAY 21, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 3 men executed in Birjand on May 21
Naser Dehar, Qanbar Ghaffari, and Nouraldin Mohammadzadeh
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IRAN - Saeed Kashani executed in Hamedan on May 21
MAY 21, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Arman Khanbeigi executed in Isfahan on May 21
- MAY 21, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 3 men executed in Zanjan on May 21
Ali Moharami, Kavous Golshan and Mohsen Hesari
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IRAN - 5 men executed in Yazd on May 21
Mohammadreza Dehghan Dehnouri, Javad Rezaei, Noorveis Achak Zehi, Vali Shahrbabaki, Reza Beig
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IRAN - Nader Mostafavi executed in Yasuj on May 21
- MAY 20, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Yousef Esmaeili executed in Bandar Abbas on May 20
- MAY 20, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Dual Iranian-British national Nasrin Roshan conditionally released on May 20
Arrested for her participation in overseas protests related to the death of Mahsa Amini
MAY 20, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Goran Qaderi executed in Sanandaj on May 20
- MAY 20, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Meysam Khazaei executed in Qom on May 20
- MAY 20, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Yaser Jalilian Executed in Kermanshah on May 20
- MAY 19, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Abdoljabar Jamalzi executed in Bandar Abbas on May 19
- MAY 19, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Ali-Asghar Alami executed in Damghan on May 19
MAY 19, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Ebrahim Narouei and Majid Faramarzi executed in Zahedan on May 19
MAY 19, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Conflicting news on Tataloo's case
MAY 19, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Unidentified man executed in Markazi province on May 19
MAY 19, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Alireza Gholibeigi executed in Qom on May 19
MAY 19, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Alireza Zarei and Mosib Farhadi executed in Shiraz on May 19
MAY 19, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Abdullah Pashan executed in Kahnouj on May 19
MAY 19, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - A woman, Setareh Taherlou, executed in Damghan on May 19