Iran executes two participants in anti-government protests — Asharq Al-Awsat

On September 30, Iran executed by hanging two men found guilty of involvement in anti-government protests in the northeastern city of Mashhad. Asharq Al-Awsat reports, citing Iran’s judiciary.

Judiciary’s version

According to the judicial portal Mizan Online, those executed were Ali Hemmati and Majid Nik-Andesh. The judiciary said they were found to have been involved in the January unrest in Mashhad, during which four members of the security forces were killed.

Iran’s judiciary also said that the men caused significant damage to public property by setting fire to shops, banks, buses and trees. The sentences were carried out early Wednesday morning after being upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court.

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Protests and executions

The protest movement in Iran began in late December over the high cost of living and quickly grew into large-scale anti-government demonstrations. They reached their peak intensity on January 8 and 9.

Iranian authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths, attributing the violence to terrorist acts allegedly organized by the United States and Israel. At the same time, non-governmental organizations outside the country say that security forces opened fire on protesters.

After the joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28, which, according to the publication, triggered a war in the Middle East, arrests and executions connected both to the conflict and to earlier protests increased in the country. According to Iran Human Rights and Together Against the Death Penalty, at least 1,639 people were executed in Iran in 2025, the highest annual figure since 1989. Amnesty International notes that Iran ranks second in the world in the number of executions, after China.