Iran executes three men over January protest unrest

Iran executed three men on Sunday for what the authorities said was armed unrest during the January 2026 protests, according to the judiciary and state media.

The men were Hassan Dioband, also spelled Divband, Hamid Kazemi and Reza Zanganeh. They were executed in Karaj, a city west of Tehran, according to the BBC and the South China Morning Post. Iran's state news agency Tasnim said they were accused of throwing Molotov cocktails and grenades, using bladed weapons and firearms, and setting fire to public facilities in Karaj. Tasnim reported that the Supreme Court upheld their convictions and that the men were found guilty of "participating in operational activities on behalf of the Israeli Zionist regime, the United States and hostile groups". Tasnim said the damage included an electricity substation in Karaj that caused power outages in some areas.

Norway-based Iran Human Rights said the hangings at dawn brought the number of men executed over the January protests to at least 39, the South China Morning Post reported. The group warned that many more were at risk, and rights groups described the trial as unfair. Rudaw reported that the three executions brought the weekly toll to five, a figure the other reports did not carry.

Dioband was arrested on 11 January after investigations identified him as a suspect in attacks on public property and incitement to violence, the BBC reported. Ten others accused of taking part in the unrest under his supervision were later arrested, and Reuters reported that they received prison terms of five to 10 years.

The protests began in December 2025 over the high cost of living and grew into nationwide anti-government demonstrations that peaked on 8 and 9 January. Iranian authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths and blamed the violence on "terrorist acts" orchestrated by the United States and Israel. Foreign-based NGOs gave higher figures, and the BBC said it received multiple accounts from Iranians of security forces opening fire on unarmed protesters.

In August, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said he was alarmed by the rise in death penalties. Türk said at least 56 people had been executed on national security-related charges since 19 March, including 27 in cases linked to January's protests. Iran is thought to be the world's second-most prolific executioner after China. Amnesty International said Iran put at least 2,159 people to death last year, the highest figure on record since 1981, including 45 executions of suspected dissidents on national security-related charges.