Iran executed 1,639 people in 2025, highest number since 1989

The spike in executions coincided with Iran's violent suppression of widespread protests in January 2026, which human rights groups say resulted in thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of arrests. Even during the current war, Iranian authorities have executed seven people connected to the January demonstrations.

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

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, IHR director — Al-Monitor

The executions disproportionately targeted ethnic minorities, particularly Kurdish populations in western Iran and Baluch communities in the southeast. Both groups largely follow Sunni Islam rather than the Shia branch dominant in Iran, making them frequent targets of state persecution.

Nearly half of those executed were convicted on drug-related charges, while the number of women executed reached its highest level in over two decades. Among the 48 women hanged, 21 were convicted of killing their husbands or fiancés, with rights groups noting many were likely victims of domestic abuse.

The death penalty in Iran is used as a political tool of oppression and repression, with ethnic minorities and other marginalised groups disproportionately represented among those executed

Raphael Chenuil-Hazan, ECPM executive director — Straits Times

While most executions occurred within prison walls, public hangings more than tripled to 11 cases in 2025, signaling an apparent effort to maximize the deterrent effect through public spectacle.

The report comes as hundreds of detained protesters remain at risk of death sentences for their participation in the January uprising, raising concerns that Iran's execution rate could climb even higher in 2026 as the regime seeks to consolidate control amid mounting domestic and international pressure.