Iran Hangs Three Men Convicted in Anti-Government Protests

Iran executed three men Monday after convicting them of involvement in anti-government protests that swept the country in December and January, authorities said.

Arrests and executions tied to the protests, which started in December over living costs, have increased since a U.S.-Israeli attack on February 28 sparked a regional war.

"Mehdi Rassouli and Mohammad Reza Miri, Mossad agents involved in the January riots in Mashhad (northeast), responsible for widespread violence and the death of a member of the security forces, were hanged," the Iranian judiciary's Mizan Online website said, naming Israel's spy agency.

The court charged the two with using Molotov cocktails and bladed weapons, inciting others to kill, and directly participating in a security officer's murder.

"Ebrahim Dolatabadi, one of the main instigators of the riots in Mashhad that claimed the lives of several members of the security forces, was also hanged," Mizan added.

The Supreme Court confirmed the verdicts for all three before the sentences were carried out, Mizan reported.

Last month, Bita Hemmati became the first woman sentenced to death over the protests, rights groups said.

Iranian authorities said the protests, which peaked in January, began peacefully then turned into riots fomented by foreign powers.

The government reported more than 3,000 deaths in the unrest but blamed the violence on terrorist acts by the United States and Israel.

On Sunday, Iran hanged a man for a murder during 2022-2023 protests that followed Mahsa Amini's death, the young Iranian Kurdish woman.

Rights groups rank Iran the world's top executioner after China.

The Norway-based Iran Human Rights Monitor said Iran conducted 656 executions in the first three months of this year, though the true number is likely far higher since only eight were recorded in March when the country was mostly offline.

Norway-based Iran Human Rights and Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty reported at least 1,639 executions in Iran in 2025, including 48 women.

In March, Iran executed three men accused of killing police during the protests, one being Saleh Mohammadi, a young member of Iran's national wrestling team.

"Dozens of individuals arrested during the January 2026 protests have been sentenced to death following grossly unfair, fast-tracked trials conducted without due process, access to independent counsel and reliance on torture-tainted forced 'confessions' as evidence," the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran said.