Iran's judiciary said two men were executed on Monday for involvement in the deaths of four police officers during anti-government protests that peaked in January. Authorities accused them of murdering the officers in the central city of Isfahan during protests that began in the capital Tehran in December over economic grievances before spreading nationwide. The movement rapidly evolved into large anti-government rallies that peaked on January 8 and 9, causing unprecedented destruction and thousands of deaths. "Alireza Sepahi and Alireza Raissi were hanged this morning after the Supreme Court upheld the verdict," the judiciary's Mizan Online website said, without specifying the dates of their arrest or trial, AFP reported. The court had sentenced the two men, whose ages were not given, to death "for membership in an armed group and undermining national security", Mizan added. Iranian authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths in the unrest, attributing the violence to "terrorist acts" orchestrated by the United States and Israel. Foreign-based NGOs, citing much higher death tolls, maintain however that Iranian security forces fired on protesters. The number of executions in Iran has risen since the start of the Middle East war, which was triggered in late February by US-Israeli strikes. In 2025, Iran executed at least 1,639 people, the largest number in any year since 1989, according to the NGOs Iran Human Rights and Together Against the Death Penalty. Amnesty International says Iran carries out more executions than any country except China. On Saturday, Iran announced the execution of another man convicted of a raft of charges including firing a military-grade weapon at police officers during the protests.
