Iranian authorities executed at least 24 people across the country on Saturday and Sunday, underscoring what monitors describe as a rapid escalation in the use of capital punishment, human rights groups reported.
The figures indicate an average of 12 executions per day – roughly one every two hours.
The executions took place in prisons in different cities across Iran, reports from the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) and the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) said. Iranian state media acknowledged only one case.
According to the groups, 23 of those executed had been convicted on murder or drug-related charges, while one person was hanged in connection with an economic case. The judiciary confirmed the latter, describing the individual as a business owner accused of “economic corruption.”
Rights groups warn the real toll is higher
Activists said the announced figure reflects only confirmed cases. Many executions in Iran are carried out in secrecy, and details often reach human-rights organizations weeks or months later due to what monitors call systemic opacity within the judiciary.
The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights said on December 4 that at least 152 people – including five women and several foreign nationals – were executed in November. At least 1,426 people had been executed in the first 11 months of 2025, a 70-percent increase over the same period last year, the organization reported. HRANA has documented more than 1,500 executions between October 2024 and October 2025.
Growing international criticism
The surge has drawn condemnation from foreign governments and international bodies. The UK Foreign Office last month urged Iran to halt executions immediately. Days earlier, the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee passed a resolution condemning the Islamic Republic’s human-rights record, citing the rising number of executions, violations of women’s rights, repression of protesters and cross-border intimidation.
Rights organizations continue to call for stronger international pressure, warning that Iran’s accelerating execution rate reflects what they view as a deepening crisis in due process and the protection of fundamental rights.
