Executions in Iran More Than Doubled in 2025

Iran carried out at least 1,922 executions in 2025, more than double the number recorded the previous year and the highest total documented in over a decade, according to a new annual report by a US-based human rights organization.

The report, published by the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) and covering the period from January 1 to December 20, said executions increased by 106 percent compared with 2024, indicating a sharp escalation in the use of capital punishment by Iran’s judiciary, The Caspian Post reports, citing Iran International.

According to HRANA, at least 10 executions were carried out in public, while the vast majority took place behind closed doors.

95% of executions, according to the findings, were not officially announced by Iranian authorities or state-affiliated media, underscoring what HRANA described as a systematic lack of transparency.

In addition to those executed, at least 168 people were newly sentenced to death in 2025, while Iran’s Supreme Court upheld death sentences in at least 56 cases.

Of those executed whose gender could be confirmed, 1,681 were men and 59 were women. The gender of roughly 10% of those put to death could not be verified due to limited official information, HRANA said.

Executions, the report found, were overwhelmingly linked to two categories of charges. Murder cases accounted for 47.55% of executions, while 46.10% were related to drug offences.