Iran executed seven men on Monday, including three convicted in connection with the January protests in the northeastern city of Mashhad, as human rights organisations reported that at least one of the men was put to death without credible evidence. The hangings underscore Tehran's intensifying use of capital punishment against dissent, a trend that has accelerated since the war in Ukraine began in February.
The judiciary confirmed that Mehdi Rasouli, 25, and Mohammad Reza Miri, 21, were hanged at Vakilabad prison in Mashhad after being found guilty of acting as Mossad agents, orchestrating unrest in the city's Tabarsi district, and involvement in the killing of a security force member during the protests. A third man, Ebrahim Dolatabadi, was executed alongside them on charges of leading disturbances in the same area.
The IRGC-run Fars news agency reported that Rasouli had participated in the protests carrying a homemade sword, and that both he and Miri had used Molotov cocktails. The judiciary cited confessions as evidence. However, a source familiar with Rasouli's case told the Iranian Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) that he had told relatives he accepted the charges only after being beaten and tortured. Security agencies had pressed his family to stay silent, promising his sentence might be reduced if they did not publicise the case, HRANA reported. He called his family on Saturday to say he was being transferred to solitary confinement.
The Hengaw Human Rights Organisation said Dolatabadi was executed despite no evidentiary proof being presented against him and his legal process lacking transparency. Sources close to Dolatabadi told Hengaw his execution was a form of sacrifice intended to secure the release of his two brothers, Vahid and Esmail Dolatabadi, who remain imprisoned in Vakilabad prison. His 14-year-old son Iman, who was also arrested during the protests, was recently released from a juvenile detention centre in Mashhad. Dolatabadi is survived by two children aged 9 and 14.
The Tehran regime has commonly accused its opponents—including participants in the country-wide protests sparked by hyperinflation and a cost-of-living crisis that peaked in January—of working for US or Israeli intelligence without providing further evidence. This pattern has drawn international condemnation, with the European Union and several member states repeatedly calling for an end to the death penalty in Iran.
Four Hanged in Isfahan
Separately, four men convicted of murder were executed at Dastgerd prison in Isfahan on Monday, according to the Iran Human Rights Organisation. The judiciary had not confirmed the executions at the time of publication. The four were identified as Peyman Mohammadi, 37, his brother Mohammadreza Mohammadi, 41, Abbas Rahimi-Azar, 29, and Mehdi Badfar, 33, all sentenced to death under qisas—the principle of "eye for an eye"—in separate cases. Badfar, a farmer from Chabahar, had been held for five years and had lost three fingers in a threshing machine accident before his arrest.
Iran is the world's most prolific executioner after China, according to rights groups. Since the start of the war on 28 February, Iran's judiciary has executed at least 30 people in connection with the January protests, alleged membership of opposition groups, or espionage charges. At least 747 people were executed in Iran on murder-related charges alone in 2025, according to the Iran Human Rights Organisation's annual report. Last year it hanged at least 1,500 people, according to the group's figures, which says Tehran has executed 12 people in cases linked to the protests of 2022-2023.
The European Union has consistently condemned the use of the death penalty in Iran, and the bloc's foreign policy chief has called for an immediate moratorium. The executions come amid broader tensions between Tehran and European capitals over Iran's nuclear programme and its support for Russia in the war in Ukraine. For more on Iran's use of capital punishment, see our earlier report: Iran Executes 21-Year-Old Karate Champion Amid UN Warning of Death Penalty Surge.
