Iran's Executions Hit 36-Year High: Over 1,600 Put to Death in 2025, NGOs Report

TEHRAN—Iranian authorities carried out at least 1,639 executions in 2025, the highest number recorded in 36 years, according to a joint report released Monday by the NGOs Iran Human Rights (IHR) and Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM). The figure represents a steep 68% increase from the 975 executions reported in 2024 and underscores what researchers describe as a systematic campaign of state terror aimed at quelling dissent.

The report, based on verified sources including family testimonies and insider contacts, notes that the 2025 total is an "absolute minimum" because many executions go unreported by official media. On average, more than four people were hanged each day. Among those executed were 48 women—the highest number in over two decades—and a disproportionate number came from ethnic minority communities, particularly Kurdish and Baloch populations.

"These aren't just numbers; they represent a deliberate strategy of fear," said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of IHR. "By executing four to five people daily, the regime seeks to paralyze society and extend its fragile grip on power."

Nearly half of the executions were for drug-related charges, but the NGOs highlight a sharp rise in politically motivated cases following the January 2026 protests, which were violently suppressed. Hundreds of detained protesters still face possible death sentences. Even after the outbreak of open war with Israel and the United States in late February, Iran hanged seven individuals linked to the January unrest, including six alleged members of the banned MEK opposition group and a dual Iranian-Swedish citizen accused of espionage.

Raphael Chenuil-Hazan of ECPM stated, "In Iran, the death penalty is a political weapon. Marginalized groups pay the highest price." Public hangings, though still rare, more than tripled to 11 in 2025, while almost all other executions occurred inside prisons.

International observers have long ranked Iran among the world's top executioners per capita. Amnesty International notes that only China is believed to execute more people annually, though reliable data from China is unavailable.

Voices & Reactions

Karim Al-Zubaidy, Middle East analyst at the Global Security Institute: "This report confirms a terrifying trend. The regime is leveraging executions not merely as judicial punishment, but as a core instrument of domestic policy during a period of unprecedented external pressure and internal fragility."

Leyla Mohammadi, Iranian exile and women's rights activist: "Forty-eight women hanged—each one a story of systemic abuse, forced marriage, or despair. The world's silence is complicity. This isn't justice; it's gendered extermination."

David Fletcher, former diplomat: "While the numbers are staggering, we must contextualize them within Iran's security paradigm. The state perceives itself as under siege from within and without, though that hardly excuses such extreme measures."

Anya Petrova, human rights lawyer (sharply critical): "‘Average of four a day’? Let's call this what it is: industrial-scale murder sanctioned by the state. The international community's tepid statements are a green light for more killing. If these were executions in Ukraine or Gaza, we'd see sanctions, outcry—but for Iran, it's just another report filed away."