The United Nations claimed on Wednesday that since the start of the Middle East conflict, Iran has arrested over 4,000 individuals and executed at least 21.
According to the UN’s rights office, at least nine people have been put to death in connection with the protests that shook Iran in January 2026, ten more for allegedly belonging to opposition parties, and two on allegations of spying since the US-Israeli strikes that started the conflict in late February.
The organization also stated that it is estimated that over 4,000 persons have been detained for reasons connected to national security.
It said many detainees had been victims of forced disappearances, torture or “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment”, including forced confessions sometimes televised and mock executions.
“I am appalled that on top of the already severe impacts of the conflict the rights of the Iranian people continue to be stripped from them by the authorities, in harsh and brutal ways,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.
“I call on the authorities to halt all further executions, establish a moratorium on the use of capital punishment, fully ensure due process and fair trial guarantees, and immediately release those arbitrarily detained.”
A number of human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, claim that Iran executes more people annually than any other nation save China.
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