During the 2026 Iran war, the Iranian government has executed several citizens that it has accused of committing severe crimes.
Beginning in late December 2025, massive nationwide anti-government protests erupted in Iran. Originally driven by discontent over the economic crisis, they escalated into explicit calls for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic government. The protests became the largest in scale since the 1979 revolution with 5 million Iranians protesting. The Iranian government responded with massacres of protesters, with the deadliest incidents occurring on 8 to 10 January 2026. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency stated it had documented at least 7,007 deaths and was reviewing an additional 11,744, the Iranian government said it was 3,117, while various non-government affiliated Iranian health officials gave a figure of 32,000 deaths.
On 2 January 2026, Trump threatened a "locked and loaded" military intervention in Iran if the government decided to kill peaceful protesters. On 13 January, he expressed support for Iranian anti-government protesters and pledged that "help is on the way" for them, and later, on 23 January, Trump announced that a US "armada" was heading to the Middle East, including the aircraft carrier and several guided-missile destroyers. On 13 February, Trump ordered the aircraft carrier and its supporting warships to sail to the Middle East.
On 27February at 3:38 p.m. EST (11:08 p.m. IRST), Donald Trump, traveling on Air Force One to Corpus Christi, Texas, gave the order to proceed with Operation Epic Fury. US missiles, drones, and Israeli fighter jets began striking Iran the next day, around 9:45 a.m. IRST (1:15 a.m. EST). The strikes took place during active negotiations over Iran's nuclear program.
According to the Iranian Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHIR), during the leadup to the war, and despite Trump's threats, Iranian authorities issued death sentences to "dozens" of protesters, including children. In addition, thousands of arrested protesters are still awaiting trial and sentencing.
On 19 March, Iran executed three protesters, including a champion teenage wrestler, Saleh Mohammadi. These constituted the first executions of detained protesters from the 2025-2026 Iran protests. Mohammadi, along with Mehdi Ghasemi and Saeed Davoudi, were executing by hanging in Qom. The three were charged with moharebeh (waging war against God) in relation to allegedly killing two police officers during the January protests. Human rights groups criticized the circumstances that led to Mohammadi's conviction, arguing that the trial was expedited and involved a confession obtained under duress. On 23 March, the Iranian judiciary verified that the cases of those detained during the January protests are still being processed with final verdicts to be implemented soon, asserting that there would be "no leniency" for convictions in relations to the January protests.
Kourosh Keyvani, a dual Swedish-Iranian citizen, was arrested in June 2025 during the Twelve-Day War, and accused by Iranian authorities of spying on behalf of Israel. Keyvani was executed on 18 March 2026. His execution was criticized by Swedish foreign minister Maria Malmer Stenergard, who said that the legal proceedings leading to his conviction "did not meet the standards of due process." The Swedish government summoned the Iranian ambassador to express displeasure with the killing of Keyvani. Keyvani's execution suggests that the war has not suspended or sidetracked the Iranian government's prosecution of those accused of espionage.
On 30 March, another two political prisoners, Akbar Daneshvarkar and Mohammad Taghavi Sangdehi, were executed by hanging. The next day, another two prisoners, Babak Alipour and Pouya Ghobadi, were hanged.