Share and Follow
Iran is poised to surpass its previous record for executions, with a staggering 657 executions reported in the first quarter of 2025, according to the Iran Human Rights Society. This marks a troubling escalation in the country’s use of capital punishment against political adversaries.
Critics argue that the regime is exploiting conflicts with the U.S. and Israel as a smokescreen to crack down on dissent. This comes in the wake of widespread anti-government protests that challenged the nation’s leaders and led to the deaths of tens of thousands at the hands of security forces and militias.
In March, global condemnation followed the execution of 19-year-old wrestler Saleh Mohammadi, with notable rebuke from figures such as former President Donald Trump.
Protesters took to the streets outside Downing Street, holding signs that read “Stop executions in Iran” and “Free Iran,” to voice their opposition to the Iranian regime’s actions. The demonstration highlighted international concern over the situation. (Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Reacting to the surge in executions, a State Department representative told Fox News Digital that the regime’s brutal tactics further underscore why it must be prevented from obtaining advanced capabilities, which the U.S. is actively working to dismantle.
The United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mai Sato, said that since the start of the war at least six executions have taken place as of March 30 and noted on her X account that an additional two executions took place on March 31.
Sato described the regime’s known victims as protesters, an accused spy for Israel, and individuals charged with “armed rebellion” against the regime. Sato said that “due to the internet blackout, it is unclear who else has been executed or are at risk of execution.” She said, “What is clear is that the death penalty is being used as a tool for suppressing political opposition in wartime conditions.”
Cars burn in a street during a protest over the collapse of the currency’s value in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 8, 2026. (Stringer/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS)
The secretariat of the NCRI provided a written statement to Fox News Digital describing the recent executions of four members of the Iranian dissident organization People’s Mohahedin Organization of Iran (PMOE/MEK). The NCRI said members Mohammad Taghavi and Akbar Daneshvarkar were transferred from Ghezel Hesar prison on March 29 and executed the following morning. Four additional members of the group, Babak Alipour, Vahid Bani Amerian, Abolhassan Montazer and Pouya Ghobadi, were transferred as well. On March 31, the regime executed Alipour and Ghobadi.
Ali Safavi, a member of the NCRI’s Foreign Affairs Committee, called for “urgent action” to save the lives of Amerian and Montazer.
Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the NCRI, posted on X that the execution conducted on March 31 “reflects the clerical regime’s fear and desperation.” She called on the United Nations and its member states to engage in “practical and effective measures, including the closure of embassies and the expulsion of the regime’s terrorist diplomats and agents.”
Before the Islamic Republic killed thousands of its own people during January protests, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that the Islamic Republic carried out “at least” 1,500 executions in 2025. According to the high commissioner, “the scale and pace of executions suggest a systematic use of capital punishment as a tool of State intimidation, with disproportionate impact on ethnic minorities and migrants.”
Amnesty International has raised similar concerns, and additionally noted that five “young protesters” now “face the imminent risk of execution,” having been transferred from Ghezal Hesar “to an unidentified location” as of March 31.