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
MARCH 1, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Nasrin Barani, a woman, executed in Isfahan on March 1
MARCH 1, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Alireza Ahmadpour executed in Qazvin on March 1
FEBRUARY 28, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Shoeib Rezapour Hanged on Bridge in Esfarayen on February 28
First 2025 Public Hanging
FEBRUARY 27, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Morteza Jafari and Javad Mohammad Khani executed in Isfahan on February 27
170 executions since the beginning of the year
FEBRUARY 27, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hamed Shiri and Enayat Rahmani executed in Rasht on February 27
FEBRUARY 27, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Ali Khalili executed in Sari on February 27
FEBRUARY 27, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Amir Jafarpanah executed in Karaj (Ghezel Hesar) on February 27
FEBRUARY 27, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Ali Vatankhah (Vatan-Khah) Executed in Ardabil on February 27
- FEBRUARY 27, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Hassan Mohammadi-Pour executed in Isfahan on February 27
- FEBRUARY 26, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Mir Mohammad Paridar, executed in Ahvaz on February 26
FEBRUARY 26, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Behrooz Safari executed in Kermanshah on February 26
FEBRUARY 26, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Abdollah Safarzehi executed in Birjand on February 26
FEBRUARY 26, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 3 men executed in Karaj (Ghezel Hesar) on February 26
Mosayeb Azizi, Sajad Eghbali + Unk
FEBRUARY 26, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 3 Kurdish men executed in Karaj (Ghezel Hesar) on February 26
Alireza Basati-Nia, Sajad Eghbali, Mostafa Hajir Behrouz
- FEBRUARY 26, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 7 Kurdish men executed in Kermanshah on February 26
FEBRUARY 26, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Executions in Ghezel Hasar on Feb. 26 rise to 9
FEBRUARY 26, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Ali Salimian executed in Isfahan on February 26
- FEBRUARY 26, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Identified 3 men executed in Kermanshah on February 26
Mahdi Jalilian, Sharif Ahmadi, and Javad Mihandoost
FEBRUARY 26, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Ezatollah Arab and Moein Arab executed in Bandarabbas on February 26
- FEBRUARY 25, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Abdolbari Jahani executed in Bandarabbas on February 25
- FEBRUARY 25, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Faramarz Keyfari Executed in Lakan on February 25
- FEBRUARY 24, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 3 men executed in Isfahan on February 22 and 24
Ahmad Hanafi, Asghar Dehghani, and Vahid Mohibi
FEBRUARY 24, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Ebrahim Khosheh executed in Ahvaz on February 24
FEBRUARY 24, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Yousef Rostami executed in Shiraz on February 24
FEBRUARY 24, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani at imminent risk of execution
Supreme Court rejected the retrial request of political prisoners
FEBRUARY 23, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Naeem Abdi executed in Qorveh on February 23
FEBRUARY 23, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Kaveh Asadbeigi executed in Zanjan on February 23
FEBRUARY 23, 2025IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mohammadreza Rezaei executed in Khorramabad on February 23
- FEBRUARY 22, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 5 men executed in Isfahan on February 22
Shahin Goudarzi, Asghar Dehghani, Ahmad Hanafi, Mojtaba Khorramdel and Vahid Mohebi
- FEBRUARY 20, 2025IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Aref Za'faranlou and Hossein Sasani executet in Karaj (Ghezel Hesar) on February 20