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
- 9,142
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 9,142 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 7, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Sociologist and civil activist Qorban Abbasi arrested
MARCH 7, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - IRGC arms civilian groups, inciting one ethnic group against another
MARCH 7, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Collateral victims: 4 in Marivan
Mitra Jalilavi, Karen Bazargan, Farzad Bazargan + 1
MARCH 7, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hrana Report on 8th day of war
Roar of Explosions Across 30 Provinces of the Country
MARCH 7, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Military deployment at hospital puts patients and staff at risk
IRGC on the roof of Kawsar Hospital in Sanandaj
MARCH 7, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hrana Report on 7th day of war
Relentless Explosions in Tehran
MARCH 6, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Collateral victims: 3 in Bukan
Shayan Mam Salimi, Ardalan Pakdel, Peyman Erfani
MARCH 5, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Sanandaj and Marivan detention centres hit
Detainees escaped with guards' weapons
MARCH 5, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hrana Report on 6th day of war
170 Strikes in 19 Provinces
MARCH 4, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hengaw Report on 6th day of war
At least 2,400 killed, including 310 civilians
MARCH 4, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hrana Report on 5th day of war
Expansion of Areas Affected by Military Strikes
MARCH 3, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hrana Report on 4th day of war
Strikes Continue in Western Regions of the Country
MARCH 3, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Human Rights Violations Under Ali Khamenei (1)
MARCH 2, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hrana Report on the 3rd Day of war
Rising Casualties and Intensified Strikes in Tehran and Western Provinces
MARCH 2, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hengaw Report on 3rd day of war
At least 1,500 killed, including 200 civilians
MARCH 1, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hrana Report on the 2nd Day of the War
Rising Civilian Casualties
MARCH 1, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mohammad Nourani Gargari executed in Ardabil on March 1
FEBRUARY 28, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Missile hits girls' primary school in Minab
FEBRUARY 28, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hrana Report: The First Day of the U.S.–Israel and Iran War
Initial Report on the Scope of Attacks and Their Human Consequences
FEBRUARY 27, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 7 men executed in late January and early February 2026
Hatem Shamshiri, Fariborz Ezzati, Saeed Fazeli, Asghar Fathi, Erfan Salehi, Amir Rouhi, Ardeshir Molaei
FEBRUARY 27, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Shot in the Heart: the Killing of 18-Year-Old Arian Nabati
- FEBRUARY 26, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 4 men executed in the past days
Hassan Khalili, Naqi Feyzi, Behnam Jahani, Mostafa Bahari
- FEBRUARY 26, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 4 men executed on February 26
Reza Azarang, Ahmad Ali Jamshidi, Naser Mazloom, + 1
FEBRUARY 26, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Victim Accounts: 16-Year-Old Amir Ali Ghanbarzadeh Shot Dead Minutes After Joining Protest
- FEBRUARY 25, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Execution of At Least Twelve People on February 25
Kianoush Monavari, Ghader Mohammadi, Nariman Zangeneh, Ali Asghar Oladi, … Shateri, Mostafa Kamali, Aysan Rostami, Jahan Azadi, Farshid Ghasemi, Taher Yousefi, Hamid Tajik, Adel Fereshteh
FEBRUARY 25, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Victim accounts: Keyvan Amiri, Bullet Wound and Stab Injury
FEBRUARY 24, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN -Two Kurdish political prisoners, Mohammad Faraji and Raouf Sheikh Maroufi, sentenced to death
Arrested during the Woman, Life, Freedom (Jin, Jiyan, Azadi) protests
FEBRUARY 24, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - The 109th Week of the “No to Execution Tuesdays” Campaign
FEBRUARY 24, 2026IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Seven minors arrested in five cities
Mohammadreza Asadi, Mohammad Javad Zeinivand, Mohammad Piri, Ali Zeinivandi, Masih Inalouei, Diana Taherabadi, Taha Ali Mirzaei
- FEBRUARY 23, 2026IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Nationwide Protests: Mohammad Abbasi Sentenced to Death, His Daughter to 25 Years in Prison