Iran records highest execution surge since late 1980s, rights groups warn

Iranian authorities executed at least 1,639 people in 2025, the highest figure recorded since 1989, two non-governmental organisations said on April 13, warning that capital punishment could be used even more extensively following protests in January and the war involving Iran, Israel and the United States.

The figure represents a 68 percent increase compared with 975 executions recorded in 2024 and includes 48 women among those executed, according to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and the Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) in their annual joint report, as cited by CBS News.

If the Islamic Republic "survives the current crisis, there is a serious risk that executions will be used even more extensively as a tool of oppression and repression," the report said.

IHR - which requires two independent sources to verify each execution, with most not announced in Iranian official media - described the total as an "absolute minimum" estimate of hangings in 2025.

The figure amounted to an average of more than four executions per day.

The report said the total equated to an average of more than four executions per day, adding that it was by far the highest level since tracking began in 2008 and the most reported since 1989, in the early years after the Islamic revolution.

The NGOs also warned that "hundreds of detained protesters remain at risk of death sentences and execution" following charges linked to capital offences during January 2026 protests against the authorities, which were suppressed in a crackdown rights groups say left thousands dead and tens of thousands arrested.

"By creating fear through an average of four to five executions per day in 2025, authorities tried to prevent new protests and prolong their crumbling rule," said IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam.

By Jeyhun Aghazada