A dying regime’s desperate strategy: How Iran’s regime used executions to cling to power in Persian year 1404

2026-03-25 - 21:10

While some Western observers spent the past year debating the so-called “moderation” of the Iranian regime’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, the mullahs’ gallows were telling the true story of his tenure. A damning new statistical report by the Iran Human Rights Society (Iran HRS) covering the Persian year 1404 (March 2025 to March 2026) reveals that the regime carried out an unprecedented campaign of state murder to maintain its fragile grip on power. By the numbers: The deadliest year in three decades The staggering statistics from the Iran HRS report prove that the ruling theocracy has entirely abandoned any pretense of justice. At least 2,657 people were executed in 1404, more than double the 1,159 executions recorded in the previous year. This marks the highest number of executions in Iran over the past three decades. A total of 2,552 men were executed behind prison walls alone. The timing of these killings is highly revealing. The highest monthly execution rate occurred in November/December 2025 (the Persian month of Azar), with at least 376 people hanged—a clear attempt to terrorize an explosive society just before the massive nationwide uprisings broke out. Conversely, the sharp drop in recorded executions to 65 in February/March 2026 (Esfand) is deceptive. The outbreak of war, intense internet blackouts, and a severe lack of transparency mean the state is simply hiding its crimes. As Iran HRS notes, “Due to reports of secret executions, it is highly likely that the real number of executions is greater than the announced figures. Particularly in some cases, information regarding the execution of sentences is not officially published, and this causes the actual number to be higher than the recorded statistics.” Eliminating the opposition: The targeting of political prisoners The regime deliberately ramped up the execution of dissidents to send a chilling warning to a restive public. Twenty-two political prisoners were executed in 1404, a sharp increase from seven the previous year. These dissidents faced fabricated charges such as Moharebeh (waging war against God), Baghi (rebellion), and acting against national security. Victims included 42-year-old Mojahed (Abbas) Kourkour, who was severely injured and arrested by security forces during the 2022 protests and executed on June 11, 2025. The execution of PMOI members Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani despite global calls for the executions to be halted was another grim highlight of the year. More recently, Saleh Mohammadi, Saeed Davoudi, and Mehdi Ghassemi—protesters detained during the 1404 uprisings—were executed on charges of Moharebeh on March 19, 2026, on the eve of Nowruz. Judicial proceedings for these prisoners lacked basic legal standards, featuring rapid trials, denial of legal counsel, and heavy reliance on confessions extracted under torture. “The execution of political prisoners in 1404 can be analyzed within the framework of the policy of suppression and creating an atmosphere of fear and terror in society,” the Iran HRS report states. “However, the trend of developments showed that this policy not only failed to prevent the spread of protests but, in many cases, led to increased public anger and turned the executed individuals into symbols of protest.” The most vulnerable: Executing women and children The regime’s misogyny and blatant disregard for international child rights are fully exposed by its escalating execution of vulnerable groups. Sixty-eight women were executed in 1404, nearly double the 38 women executed the previous year. Furthermore, eight juvenile offenders (individuals under 18 at the time of their alleged crimes) were sent to the gallows, including 18-year-old Hadi Soleimani and 20-year-old Mohammad Reza Sabzi, both executed in May 2025. Many of the women executed were victims of severe domestic violence, forced marriages, and systemic economic hardship. The regime’s courts completely ignore these underlying socio-economic and psychological realities. Iran HRS highlights that “the execution of women can be seen not merely as a criminal punishment, but as a sign of the lack of social and legal protections for women in vulnerable situations.” Spectacles of brutality: Public executions as psychological warfare By bringing the gallows to city squares, the regime actively attempts to normalize violence and traumatize the public. Ten men were hanged in public spaces in 1404, an increase from seven the previous year. Victims like 23-year-old Sajjad Piri were hanged in front of crowds in places like Nourabad Delfan. These public hangings are fundamentally non-humanitarian acts that violate human dignity, meant only to showcase the state’s capacity for violence to a terrified population. The execution of 2,657 individuals in 1404 did not save the regime from the historic uprisings of December and January; it only deepened the chasm between the Iranian people and the ruling clerics. With Mojtaba Khamenei now installed following his father’s death, the international community must not turn a blind eye to these ongoing crimes against humanity. The perpetrators of these state murders must be held accountable.