TEHRAN, Iran (BN24) — Iran executed six death-row inmates on Saturday, alleging they carried out deadly attacks in the country’s oil-rich southwest on behalf of Israel, in what rights groups describe as part of the largest wave of executions in decades.
The executions came months after the 12-day Iran–Israel war in June, which ended with Tehran vowing to strike its enemies both at home and abroad. Activists say Iran often relies on coerced confessions and closed-door trials, particularly in cases involving accusations of espionage or collaboration with Israel.
Iranian authorities claimed the six men were responsible for killing police officers and security personnel, and for coordinating bombings at sites in and around Khorramshahr, a city in the restive Khuzestan province. State television aired footage showing one of the men detailing the alleged attacks, saying it was the first time such information had been revealed.
The Kurdish human rights organization Hengaw reported the executions and identified all six as Arab political prisoners who were detained during the 2019 nationwide protests. The group said Iranian authorities accused them of belonging to the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz, a separatist faction that has previously attacked oil pipelines and security targets in the region.
According to Hengaw, the men were subjected to severe torture and forced to give televised confessions under duress. The Arab population of Khuzestan has long complained of systemic discrimination by Iran’s central government, and the province has repeatedly been a flashpoint for anti-government demonstrations.
In a separate case on Saturday, Iran executed another prisoner accused of killing a Sunni cleric in 2009 in Kurdistan province.
Human rights groups say Iran is executing prisoners at a pace not seen since 1988, when thousands were killed at the end of the Iran–Iraq war. The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights group and the Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran estimate that over 1,000 people have been executed in 2025, though the actual number may be higher because Tehran does not disclose every execution.
Independent United Nations human rights experts have also condemned Iran’s use of the death penalty, citing a lack of due process and fair trials.
