A report by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) reveals that over 1,000 prisoners were executed in Iran in 2024 across 86 prisons, marking the highest number in three decades. This represents a 16% increase from the 864 executions in 2023.
The majority of executions occurred in the second half of the year, with nearly 70% taking place after President Masoud Pezeshkian’s July election. A significant portion, approximately 47%, were carried out in the final quarter of 2024, a period the NCRI describes as one where the regime faced substantial regional setbacks and escalating domestic crises.
NCRI president-elect Maryam Rajavi characterized the executions as a desperate attempt to quell dissent and prevent the overthrow of the regime. She asserted that these actions only strengthen the resolve of Iranian youth to challenge the religious dictatorship.
Rajavi further stated that any engagement with the Iranian regime should be contingent upon the cessation of executions and torture, and that its leaders must be held accountable for decades of human rights abuses and genocide.
The Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations declined to comment on the report.
Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, suggested that the increased executions, including those of political prisoners and non-violent offenders, are a response to the regime’s perceived weakness and an attempt to suppress internal opposition.
Among those executed were 34 women, seven juvenile offenders, and 70 Afghan nationals (a 300% increase from the previous year), according to Amu TV and the NCRI report. The NCRI also highlights the execution of 119 prisoners from the Baluchi minority, a group representing 2% of the Iranian population, according to a UN report, which also noted the disproportionate impact on ethnic and religious minorities following the 2022 protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini.
Another notable execution was that of Jamshid Sharmahd, a German citizen and long-term US resident, who was executed in October following a trial deemed grossly unfair.
In a report shared by the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, political prisoner Saeed Masouri described witnessing an execution approximately every four hours. He recounted nearly 25 executions during the Christmas period alone.
Masouri’s account details the constant fear and mental toll of imprisonment, where every prison routine felt like a potential finality.
The NCRI reported twelve more executions on the first day of 2025.