New evidence reveals a coordinated, nationwide surge in executions by Iran’s regime, with more than 1,470 killings in 2025 and at least eight political prisoners now facing immediate execution.
Iran’s regime has intensified its use of the death penalty to an unprecedented level, combining mass executions across the country with a dramatic acceleration in death sentences for political prisoners. The evidence, compiled from prison sources, court documents, and human rights monitors, paints a picture of a judicial system weaponized for political survival.
Between 22–26 November 2025, 56 prisoners were executed in multiple prisons. Simultaneously, at least eight political prisoners have had their death sentences confirmed and now face imminent execution. Human rights organizations say these developments represent a deliberate, coordinated campaign of repression designed to deter nationwide protests and maintain the regime’s grip on power.
A 37-Year Record: 304 Executions in November 2025
November 2025 marked the deadliest month of executions since 1988. According to verified documentation, 304 prisoners were executed — the highest monthly total in 37 years. The scale and speed of the killings have shocked observers.
Between 17–20 November 2025, Iran’s regime executed 63 prisoners, averaging one execution every 90 minutes. The pace continued into 22 November 2025, when at least eight more prisoners were executed in Kermanshah, Karaj, Khorramabad, Borujerd, Hamedan, and Sari.
Field data shows that many victims were executed within days of sentencing, without public notification, without access to a lawyer, and without the minimum guarantees of a fair trial.
A Year of Escalation: Month-by-Month Execution Statistics in 2025
Human rights groups report a sharp upward trend across the Persian year 1404 (March 2025–March 2026):
- March 2025: 86 executions
- April 2025: 172 executions
- May 2025: 147 executions
- June 2025: 86 executions
- July 2025: 174 executions
- August 2025: 194 executions
- September 2025: 295 executions
- October 2025: 304 executions
- 22–26 November 2025: 56 executions
By early December, the total number of executions in 2025 exceeded 1,470.
A parallel monitoring group, Voice of Iran Detainees, reports 1,735 executions recorded in the 2025 calendar year so far.
Large clusters of executions were documented in Khorasan, East and West Azerbaijan, Semnan, Yazd, Hamedan, and Zanjan — often carried out secretly and without due process.
Eight Political Prisoners Facing Immediate Execution
As mass executions escalate, Iran’s regime has simultaneously intensified the execution of political prisoners.
During October and November 2025, the Supreme Court approved the death sentences of eight political prisoners, placing them at immediate risk of execution. They are:
- Manouchehr Fallah and Peyman Farahavar (a poet) — Lakan Prison, Rasht
- Seyed Mohammad Javad Vafaee Thani — Vakilabad Prison, Mashhad
- Ehsan Faridi — Tabriz Prison
- Reza Abdali, Masoud Jamei, Alireza Mordasi, Farshad Etemadi-far — Sheiban Prison, Ahvaz
Human rights organizations emphasize that these eight represent only a fraction of political prisoners in danger. At least 42 political detainees are now awaiting execution.
Torture, Forced Confessions, and Sham Trials
Legal analysts warn that the majority of death sentences stem from:
- torture-extracted confessions
- denial of legal representation
- closed-door trials
- vague security charges such as “waging war against God” and “corruption on earth”
A human rights lawyer stated: “These rulings lack judicial legitimacy and expose judges and interrogators to future prosecution under universal jurisdiction.”
Human rights organizations say the combination of torture, coercion, and opaque judicial processes could constitute crimes against humanity under international law.
Prison Resistance and Nationwide Hunger Strikes
Inside Iran’s prisons, unrest is growing. On 12 November 2025, more than 200 political prisoners in Evin Prison launched a hunger strike after the violent transfer of Ehsan Afrashteh, a prisoner facing execution.
This protest is part of the expanding “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign, now active in over 55 prisons across the country. Prisoners say the campaign is their only remaining non-violent tool to resist the machinery of execution.
New Legislation Expanding the Death Penalty
Human rights groups warn that Iran’s regime is preparing the legal ground for even more executions. A new law passed in early 2025 — the “Law on Intensifying Punishment for Espionage and Cooperation with Hostile States” — dramatically expands the definition of “espionage.”
The law can now be applied to:
- political activists
- journalists
- cultural figures
- ordinary social media users
Analysts warn that it effectively turns dissent into a capital offense.
International Alarm and United Nations Warnings
Iran’s regime continues to rank among the world’s top executioners. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recently described the accelerating use of the death penalty as “alarmingly high”, calling for its immediate suspension.
The UN Fact-Finding Mission has similarly warned that most executions in Iran violate international fair trial standards.
But despite global condemnation, Iran’s regime has escalated rather than slowed its killing campaign — embedding executions into the core of its internal security doctrine.
Execution as a Tool of Political Terror
The convergence of mass executions and the targeting of political prisoners provides a clear picture: Iran’s regime is using the death penalty as a central instrument of political control.
The goals, analysts say, are clear:
- to deter nationwide uprisings
- to crush dissent
- to instill fear across society
- to compensate for deepening economic and political crises
But some experts warn that the strategy may backfire. With poverty rising, protests spreading, and public anger intensifying, mass executions may only deepen societal unrest.
Human rights organizations are calling on the international community to intervene urgently, halt all pending executions, and demand full judicial reviews for cases involving torture, coercion, and violations of fair trial guarantees.
