Iran issued a fierce denial that it was executing criminals under the age of 18

Iran issued a fierce denial that it was executing criminals under the age of 18 or stoning people to death, dismissing as foreign propaganda reports that such punishments were continuing. 
"In the Islamic republic, we do not see such things being carried out," judiciary spokesman Jamal Karimi-Rad told reporters.
"Bringing up the issues of stoning and the execution of under-18s comes from outside the country and is aimed at distorting the image of the Islamic republic," he said. The spokesman, however, did not rule out the possibility that such sentences were being issued by certain courts. However he said they were invariably quashed on appeal or by the Supreme Court -- which has to approve all executions -- and stressed "no such verdicts have been carried out."