In response to this surge, Spreading Justice examined the officials and institutions responsible for facilitating these executions. While such executions continue beyond the reporting period, this report focuses on the two months between March 18 and May 18, 2026, during which at least 32 individuals were executed following grossly unfair trials. The youngest among them, Amirhossein Hatami, was only 18 years old. Although limited in its temporal scope, the findings reflect a broader and ongoing pattern, with executions on political and security-related charges continuing at an alarming pace.

Others executed during this period were accused of involvement in the 2022 Women, Life, Freedom protests or alleged activity connected to the 12-day war with Israel in June 2025.

Comparatively, according to HRA documentation, between March 18 and May 18, 2025, a total of 198 individuals were executed in Iran, compared to 65 executions during the same period in 2026. However, only 8 individuals were executed on political and security-related charges in 2025, underscoring the sharp escalation in the use of executions as a tool of political repression in 2026.

Spreading Justice has identified the judicial authorities responsible for issuing these arbitrary death sentences. These individuals have long-standing records of involvement in violations of the right to life and the systematic denial of fair trial guarantees. Among them, Judge Iman Afshari has played a particularly central role. During this same period, Afshari sentenced at least eight individuals to death on political and security-related charges, including:

• ●Ehsan Hosseinipour Hessarlou (Sentence upheld)
• ●Matin Mohammadi (Sentence upheld)
• ●Erfan Amiri (Sentence upheld)
• ●Maryam Hodavand (Sentence upheld)
• ●Mohammadreza Majidi-Asl (Sentence overturned)
• ●Bita Hemmati (Sentence overturned)
• ●Behrouz Zamaninejad
• ●Kourosh Zamaninejad

Afshari is also implicated in at least six additional cases outlined below that resulted in arbitrary executions.

14 Individuals Executed Between March 18 and May 18, 2026, in Connection with the January 2026 Dey Protests

	Victim	Individuals Involved in Violations of the Right to Life
	Mehdi GhasemiAge: Not specified Date of Execution: March 19, 2026 Charge: Moharebeh through use of a bladed weapon in unlawful gatherings leading to the killing of law enforcement agents; operational action for Israel and the United States; inciting people to war and murder	Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Saleh MohammadiAge: 19 Date of Execution: March 19, 2026 Charge: Moharebeh through use of a bladed weapon in unlawful gatherings leading to the killing of law enforcement agents; operational action for Israel and the United States; inciting people to war and murder	Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Saeed DavoudiAge: Not specified Date of Execution: March 19, 2026 Charge: Moharebeh through use of a bladed weapon in unlawful gatherings leading to the killing of law enforcement agents; operational action for Israel and the United States; inciting people to war and murder	Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Amirhossein HatamiAge: 18 Date of Execution: April 2, 2026 Charge: Moharebeh through participation in operational activities against national security for Israel, the United States, and opposition groups	Abolghasem SalavatiGholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Mohammad-Amin BiglariAge: 19 Date of Execution: April 5, 2026 Charge: Moharebeh through participation in operational activities against national security for Israel, the United States, and opposition groups	Abolghasem SalavatiGholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Shahin VahedparastAge: 30 Date of Execution: April 5, 2026 Charge: Moharebeh through participation in operational activities against national security for Israel, the United States, and opposition groups	Abolghasem SalavatiGholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Ali FahimAge: 23 Date of Execution: April 6, 2026 Charge: Moharebeh through participation in operational activities against national security for Israel, the United States, and opposition groups	Abolghasem SalavatiGholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Amirali MirjafariAge: 24 Date of Execution: April 21, 2026 Charge: Operational action for the Israeli regime and hostile governments; collaboration with Mossad-linked networks; arson and destruction of public property	Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Erfan KianiAge: Not specified Date of Execution: April 25, 2026 Charge: Moharebeh through use of a bladed weapon to intimidate the public and participate in destruction of public property	Revolutionary Court of IsfahanGholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Sasan Azadvar JunaqaniAge: 21 Date of Execution: April 30, 2026 Charge: Moharebeh (enmity against God)	Seyed-Mahmoud Kazem ZadehGholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Mehdi RasouliAge: 25 Date of Execution: May 3, 2026 Charge: Operational activities against national security for Israel, the United States, and opposition groups	Gholamreza Akbari MoghadamGhasem MazinaniGholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Ebrahim DolatabadiAge: Not specified Date of Execution: May 3, 2026 Charge: Moharebeh and leading the protests	Gholamreza Akbari MoghadamGhasem MazinaniGholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Mohammadreza MiriAge: 21 Date of Execution: May 3, 2026 Charge: Operational activities against national security for Israel, the United States, and opposition groups	Gholamreza Akbari MoghadamGhasem MazinaniGholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Mohammad AbbasiAge: Not specified Date of Execution: May 13, 2026 Charge: Moharebeh (enmity against God)	Abolghasem SalavatiSeyyed Kazem Sadati FiruzabadGholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad

18 Individuals Executed on Political and Security Charges Unrelated to the January 2026 Protests

During this period, 18 individuals were also executed on political and security-related charges. However, these charges were not connected to the January protests. Instead, these individuals were executed for their alleged involvement in the 2022 Women, Life, Freedom protests and alleged activity during the 12-day war with Israel.

	Victim	Individuals Involved in Violations of the Right to Life
	Kourosh KeyvaniAge: Not specified Date of Execution: March 18, 2026 Charge: Espionage for Israel	Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Akbar Daneshvar-KarAge: 59 Date of Execution: March 30, 2026 Charge: Baghi (armed rebellion) through membership in opposition groups	Iman AfshariGholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Seyed Mohammad Taghavi-SangdehiAge: 60 Date of Execution: March 30, 2026 Charge: Baghi (armed rebellion) through membership in opposition groups	Iman AfshariGholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Babak AlipourAge: Not specified Date of Execution: March 31, 2026 Charge: Baghi (armed rebellion) through membership in opposition groups	Iman AfshariGholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Pouya GhobadiAge: Not specified Date of Execution: March 31, 2026 Charge: Baghi (armed rebellion) through membership in opposition groups	Iman AfshariGholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Abolhassan MontazerAge: 68 Date of Execution: April 4, 2026 Charge: Baghi (armed rebellion) through membership in opposition groups	Iman AfshariGholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Vahid BaniamerianAge: 34 Date of Execution: April 4, 2026 Charge: Baghi (armed rebellion) through membership in opposition groups	Iman AfshariGholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Mohammad Masoum ShahiAge: Not specified Date of Execution: April 20, 2026 Charge: Moharebeh, cooperation with a hostile state, assembly and collusion against national security, and membership in a group with intent to disrupt national security	Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Hamed ValidiAge: 45 Date of Execution: April 20, 2026 Charge: Moharebeh, cooperation with a hostile state, assembly and collusion against national security, and membership in a group with intent to disrupt national security	Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Mehdi FaridAge: 55 Date of Execution: April 22, 2026 Charge: Efsad-e fel-arz (corruption on earth) through cooperation with Israel	Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Soltanali Shirzadi FakhrAge: Not specified Date of Execution: April 23, 2026 Charge: Cooperation with Israel and moharebeh	Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Amer RameshAge: 22 Date of Execution: April 26, 2026 Charge: Baghi (armed rebellion) and membership in an armed opposition group	Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Mehrab AbdollahzadehAge: 28 Date of Execution: May 2, 2026 Charge: Corruption on Earth	Ghorban ShahiniSeyyed Kazem Sadati FiruzabadGhasem MazinaniGholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Yaghoub KarimpourAge: Not specified Date of Execution: May 2, 2026 Charge: Distributing information and images of military sites; manufacturing sound bombs; and field cooperation with Mossad officers	Sajjad DoostiGhasem MazinaniGholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Naser BekrzadehAge: 26 Date of Execution: May 2, 2026 Charge: Espionage for Israel	Ghorban ShahiniSeyyed Kazem Sadati FiruzabadGholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Erfan ShakourzadehAge: Not specified Date of Execution: May 11, 2026 Charge: Spying for CIA and the Mossad	Abolghasem SalavatiGholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Abdoljalil ShahbakhshAge: 24 Date of Execution: May 12, 2026 Charge: Baghi (armed rebellion) through armed attacks on law enforcement facilities and membership in the insurgent group Ansar al-Furqan	Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad
	Ehsan AfrashtehAge: Not specified Date of Execution: May 13, 2026 Charge: Spying for Israel	Abolghasem SalavatiSeyyed Kazem Sadati FiruzabadGhasem MazinaniSheykh Abbasali Alizade BaygiGholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’iMohammad-Jafar MontazeriMohammad Movahediazad

Iran has summoned the editor-in-chief of the state-run news agency IRNA for clarification after it published images showing a woman without a hijab, according to authorities and a rights group on Thursday.

Wearing a headscarf in public has been mandatory for women in Iran since shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and remains a key ideological principle of the country’s clerical leadership.

Judiciary confirms summons and warning

Iran’s judiciary-run Mizan Online website reported that the IRNA editor-in-chief “was summoned to the culture and media prosecutor’s office to provide explanations” following the publication of images that allegedly showed a woman not complying with Islamic laws and regulations.

The website further stated that the news outlet was also warned to remove the content.

Rights group says images were removed quickly

A US-based human rights organisation said IRNA had published the photo report on Tuesday and later taken down the images within a few hours of posting them online.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said the report featured a woman without the compulsory hijab while she was at home and caring for a baby.

Photographer’s explanation cited

HRANA also quoted the photographer behind the project, Marzieh Mousavi, who clarified on her Instagram page that the intention of the story was not focused on clothing or appearance.

According to her statement, the central theme of the work was about temporarily caring for an abandoned newborn, rather than the depiction of hijab compliance.

The post Iran state media under fire after publishing woman without hijab photo appeared first on Human Right Activists In Iran.

Iran is tightening its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, asserting a new level of control over one of the world’s most critical oil transit chokepoints, an Israeli analyst said on Wednesday (May 20).

The development comes as nations seek to replenish strained energy supplies amid ongoing conflict, with shipping routes increasingly influenced by Tehran’s approval system.

Israeli analyst Danny Citinowicz described a formalised process now governing tanker movement. “In order to get out from the strait, all the tankers need to approach Iranian authorities that now establish a bureaucracy process,” he said.

Ships must file requests through Iran’s Foreign Ministry, which are then passed to the navy, including the Revolutionary Guard. “Only after they will get the approval… only then they can get out from the strait,” he added, noting that fees may also be imposed as part of the process.

Marine traffic data and timelapse imagery showed continued congestion and careful navigation through the narrow waterway, while footage from Oman’s Musandam peninsula captured vessels lingering in and around the strait.

Citinowicz said the current situation leaves little room for manoeuvre. “For now, the status quo means one thing: that ships cannot go through the strait without the approval of the Iranian authorities. And unfortunately, it’s not going to change,” he said.

He warned that any attempt by the United States to alter the situation militarily could trigger escalation. “If the U.S. will try to change this situation, then eventually the Iranians will attack them and escalation will be actually inevitable,” he added.

Beyond security, Iran appears to be leveraging its position for broader strategic aims, favouring ships linked to allies such as China and Russia, followed by countries with closer ties to Tehran, while others may require government-to-government arrangements. This gives Iran significant discretion over which vessels are allowed to pass.

“So it’s not only the economical one, it’s not only the security one, but also the political one,” Citinowicz said. “The Iranians actually will choose which kind of tankers will move through the strait, for example, Chinese, Indians, because they want to enhance the cooperation with them.”

As a result, he said, the Strait of Hormuz is becoming not just a maritime chokepoint, but a tool of geopolitical influence, with global energy flows increasingly dependent on decisions made in Tehran.

The post Iran tightens grip on Strait of Hormuz, forcing tankers to seek approval – analyst appeared first on Human Right Activists In Iran.

Iran has summoned the editor-in-chief of the official news agency IRNA for explanations over the publication of images of a woman without hijab, authorities and a rights group said Thursday.

Wearing the headscarf in public has been mandatory for women since shortly after the Islamic revolution in 1979, in what was long seen as an ideological pillar of the clerical leadership.

The Iranian judiciary’s Mizan Online website said IRNA’s editor-in-chief “was summoned to the culture and media prosecutor’s office to provide explanations” after the publication “of images showing a woman without observing the Islamic laws and regulations of the country”.

It added that “the outlet was also warned to remove the material”.

A US-based rights group said IRNA published the photo report on Tuesday and removed the images from its website just a few hours later.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) added that the report showed a woman without the compulsory hijab while at home tending to a baby.

“Marzieh Mousavi, the photographer of the project, emphasised on her Instagram page that the main focus of the story was not… clothing or appearance, but rather the story of temporarily caring for an abandoned newborn,” it said.

The post Iran summons news agency editor over photos of woman without hijab appeared first on Human Right Activists In Iran.

The devastation caused by US imperialism’s war on Iran has been widely documented. The independent Iranian Human Rights Activists News Agency estimates that as many as 3,636 have been killed there, and in Lebanon, the death toll from the Israeli regime’s ongoing assault has also exceeded 3,000.

Besides the immediate loss of life, the war is having an enormous impact on the living standards of millions of poor and working-class people across the world. With the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz, an historic energy crisis is under way, which is still far from reaching its peak. The IMF has issued warnings that, without an end to the conflict, it is quite possible that a new stagflationary recession is on the cards – a scenario in which it would be the working class forced to bear the brunt.

Another consequence of Trump’s war, one which has gotten far less media attention, has been its devastating environmental impact, at a time of already-deepening climate crisis. This is a war not only against the Iranian and Lebanese people, but also against the planet. While workers face instability and the planet burns, major fossil fuel companies have actually benefited from the crisis – raking in record profits.

A War on People and Nature
After the first bombs landed on Iran in March, the media was flooded with images of Tehran on fire. This was in the wake of Israeli military attacks on four major oil depots on the outskirts of the city, which left millions of barrels of oil in flames. Iranians woke up to find the whole city shrouded in black dust, the air thick with CO2 and methane, and the sky glowing orange. The level of air pollution was so high that “black rain” fell in Tehran.

But this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the environmental impact of the bombings. Researchers at Queen Mary, University of London found more than five million tonnes of CO2 were released into the atmosphere during just two weeks of the conflict – equivalent to the total level of carbon released by Iceland in a whole year, and equal to the combined emissions of the world’s 84 lowest-emitting countries.

Part of this is driven by the enormous fuel consumption required for the deployment of missiles towards and from US military bases in the surrounding region. The Guardian reported that between 150 million and 270 million litres of fuel were burnt in the first 14 days of the war alone.

These figures show how imperialism and militarism threaten not only human life, but also the environmental conditions needed to sustain it. The pollution of water networks, destruction of critical infrastructure, and contamination of soil and water sources will endanger the livelihoods and health of future generations across the region.

There have also been multiple reports of oil spills in the Persian Gulf since the start of the war, with oil washing up on islands that are protected wildlife refuges. The continuing threat of oil spills in the Gulf, caused by the disruption and militarisation of supply routes, will have devastating consequences extending far beyond the war itself. The continued destruction of marine ecosystems (mangroves, coral reefs etc.) would in turn have severe knock-on effects for food security and coastal flood protection, further accelerating the region’s refugee crisis. This danger is compounded further by the growing number of extreme weather events, which saw military deployments in disaster responses more than 160 times globally over just six months in 2025.

Mega-Profits for Big Oil
While workers weigh up the choice between filling up their gas tanks or putting food on the table, for the fossil fuel industry, this war has been enormously lucrative. The squeeze on the oil supply has ramped up fuel costs – and therefore profits. The EU’s fuel bill has risen by 22 billion euros since the start of the war. In Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, the prices of gas and diesel have risen more than 140% over the past year, making it the second most expensive country for fuel globally.

Meanwhile, according to The Guardian, the top 100 oil and gas companies internationally gained $30 million every hour in windfall profits over the first month of the war. BP boasted about “exceptional oil trading” after reporting a doubling of first quarter profits compared to 2025. Some countries, such as Australia, have tried to offset the rising costs for consumers by cutting fuel tax – but allowing big business to continue profiteering off the fuel crisis. Even Trump has floated a gas tax holiday, which would save US drivers a whopping $9 a month.

The fossil fuel industry profiting off war and destruction is nothing new. In 2022, big oil more than doubled its profits after the start of the war in Ukraine. The US fossil fuel industry receives an estimated $35 billion per year in subsidies, meanwhile, predatory institutions like the IMF warn against governments implementing measures to soften the economic blow of the energy shock on workers and the poor.

A Green Transition on the Way?
Sections of the capitalist media have asked whether disruption to oil and gas supplies could ultimately accelerate investment in renewable energy. In a recent press conference, Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UN climate secretariat, suggested that war with Iran could “supercharge” the global shift towards renewable energy under capitalism. As the argument goes, the war may deepen the appeal of green energy sources like wind and solar because they’re less vulnerable to geopolitical shocks and wartime disruption than fossil fuels.

But it is fundamentally misleading to read too much into this – the overwhelming picture for the planet is more dangerous than ever on the basis of capitalism.

It is likely that some capitalist governments, particularly in Europe and Asia respond to these disruptions by investing greater amounts in solar, wind and electric vehicles. Countries have been burned by successive energy supply-chain crises, and will seek solutions that insulate themselves from shocks abroad.

But that is not the same as the capitalists building a genuine green transition: a coordinated, joined-up and (by necessity) international plan to phase out fossil fuels altogether. It’s not an exaggeration to say that this is utterly impossible on the basis of capitalism, based as it is around private profit and competing nation-states.

In many places, the cheaper or faster solution to the Iran energy crisis is not green at all. Countries like India, Thailand, and Vietnam, who can no longer rely on liquified natural gas from the Gulf, are ramping up coal power to take its place. Some are turning to burning wood and charcoal, which comes with health hazards. Mexico is returning to fracking, European countries are expanding drilling in the North Sea, and Greece is approving offshore exploration for the first time in decades.

Anyone optimistic about war making the world green is also neglecting the role the inter-imperialist rivalry between the US and China can in fact have on stimulating the fossil fuel industry.

The entire logic of inter-imperialist conflict, centred as it is on competition for resources like oil, gas, and rare earth minerals, not only threatens new and even more catastrophic wars, but also deepens the climate crisis and obstructs even the limited measures that might otherwise be achieved under capitalism.

If you want evidence of this, look no further than the yearly United Nations Climate Change Conferences (COP) and their trajectory. For decades, COP acted as a stage where capitalist governments would put on a show to pretend that action was just around the corner. Representatives would gather each year to pay lip service to the climate crisis, issuing vague declarations about ‘carbon budgets’ and a ‘climate justice’, while taking little-to-no meaningful action. But even this pantomime is collapsing.

COP30, held in Brazil last year, marked a milestone for all the wrong reasons: for the first time, a majority of participating governments failed to even submit their clean energy targets, with only 70 out of 194 countries doing so. Governments are increasingly justifying their inaction by blaming ‘the other side’ in conflicts.

When Donald Trump makes sweeping cuts to environmental protection programmes, expands fossil fuel subsidies, and brands climate activists as “terrorists”, he isn’t just expressing his own personal climate denialism. Wider political and class forces are at work. In a period of escalating imperialist tensions, the ruling classes of the imperialist powers are increasingly subordinating climate action to military expansion, diverting resources into rising defence budgets. Meanwhile the rest of us are facing new rounds of austerity under the guise of making savings for the sake of defence.

New Revolts on the Horizon
This new era makes Lenin’s description of capitalism as “horror without end” more relevant than ever. But alongside these horrors comes growing resistance to them.

Following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022, the resulting shocks to global food supplies helped spur a wave of social revolt and protest across the world. This included the Sri Lankan uprising the same year which overthrew the rule of the Rajapaksa dynasty, Iran’s “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, where outrage at gender violence and state repression combined with anger over worsening living conditions, as well as major strike waves in France and Britain.

A new round of energy shocks will undoubtedly produce similar revolts and mass movements – potentially on a greater scale. Already, the energy shock has provoked protests and strikes in a series of countries including Ireland, the Philippines, Kenya, Comoros and Mozambique, some of which have won concessions from governments. But if future movements are to avoid defeats and instead fundamentally change society, they will require a clear socialist programme and mass organisations of the working class, so we can confront the billionaire class responsible for these crises.

The international labour movement must unite around demands for investment in healthcare, education, housing, and a genuine green transition – not militarism and war. This should include demands to massively tax the billionaires, but also crucially, for the nationalisation of the oil and gas industry, the energy sector, the banks, and major corporations. Bringing the major polluters into democratic working-class ownership and control would make it possible to direct investment towards renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure, while making sure it isn’t the working class which bears the burden of the crisis. Only a coordinated, international socialist plan of production can genuinely balance the needs of people and the planet.

The post The War on Iran Is an Environmental Disaster appeared first on Human Right Activists In Iran.

An Iranian citizen who holds permanent residency in the United States has been released from prison in Iran and has returned to the US, a rights group said Tuesday.

“Shahab Dalili, an Iranian citizen and US permanent resident who had been imprisoned in Evin Prison, was released after serving 10 years in prison. Following his release, he returned to the United States,” the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said in a statement.

It said the man, who was sentenced for allegedly “cooperating with a hostile government,” travelled after his release from Iran to the Armenian capital Yerevan before returning to Washington “where he is now safe and reunited with his family.” It did not specify the date of his return.

Dalili was jailed in 2016 when he visited Iran for his father’s funeral.

He strongly denied the charges he was detained on.

Both he and his son went on hunger strike in 2023 after he was not included in a deal to free US citizens.

That deal saw the US authorize the transfer of six billion dollars in Iranian funds frozen in South Korea and the release of five Iranians to facilitate the release of five Americans jailed by Iran in 2023.

The post US resident released from Iranian prison, returns home: Rights group appeared first on Human Right Activists In Iran.

An Iranian citizen who holds permanent residency in the United States has been released from prison in Iran and has returned to the US, a rights group said Tuesday.
“Shahab Dalili, an Iranian citizen and US permanent resident who had been imprisoned in Evin Prison, was released after serving 10 years in prison. Following his release, he returned to the United States,” the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said, in a statement.

It said the man, who was sentenced for allegedly “cooperating with a hostile government,” traveled from Iran to the Armenian capital Yerevan before returning to Washington “where he is now safe and reunited with his family,” without specifying the date of his return.

The post US resident released from Iranian prison, returns home: rights group appeared first on Human Right Activists In Iran.

Executions across the globe last year rose to the highest levels recorded by Amnesty International since 1981, according to the human rights organization.

Amnesty documented 2,707 people being executed across 17 countries in 2025.

“The staggering rise recorded in the report Death Sentences and Executions 2025, was down to a handful of governments determined to rule by fear. Iranian authorities, the main drivers behind the spike, executed at least 2,159 people, more than double its 2024 figure,” according to the organization.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency reported this month, “Executions of prisoners on political and security-related charges have increased alongside the outbreak of military conflict in Iran.”

Sources who have spoken with NewsNation say the number of deaths during the January protests is closer to 30,000, but an exact number is difficult to reach.

Executions in the US
In 2025, 47 people, all of them male, were executed in the United States, the highest number in 16 years.

On his first day back in office, President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order on the death penalty that directs the attorney general to “take all necessary and lawful action” to ensure that states have enough lethal injection drugs to carry out executions.

Federal executions had been on hold since a moratorium was imposed by former Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2021.

Trump’s administration carried out 13 federal executions during his first term, more than under any president in modern history, and the president has spoken frequently of expanding executions. In a speech announcing his 2024 campaign, Trump called for those “caught selling drugs to receive the death penalty for their heinous acts.”

The post Global executions hit 44-year high in 2025: Amnesty International appeared first on Human Right Activists In Iran.

Iran has warned that any renewed conflict would bring “many more surprises” after United States President Donald Trump gave Iran “two to three days” to reach a deal.

Meanwhile, US Vice President JD Vance said that both sides have made a “lot of progress” in talks to end the war that has triggered a global energy crisis.

At the same time, Chinese President Xi Jinping is hosting Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks expected to centre on energy and weapons agreements, with the wars in Iran and Ukraine looming heavily over the discussions.

In Iran

• US resident released from prison: Iranian authorities freed Shahab Dalili, an Iranian citizen and US permanent resident, after 10 years in Tehran’s Evin Prison, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA). The rights group said Dalili has since returned to the United States.
• Military warns of broader retaliation: Iran’s army said it would “open new fronts” against the US if Washington launches new attacks. Army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia said Tehran would respond with “new equipment and new methods” if conflict resumes, Iran’s ISNA news agency reported.

War diplomacy

• Vance says talks advancing: US vice president said negotiations with Iran are making “good progress”, while warning Washington remains prepared to resume military operations if diplomacy fails.
• G7 stresses economic coordination: G7 finance ministers pledged closer cooperation to address economic risks linked to the war after talks in Paris that also highlighted tensions between the US and some allies.

In the US

• Trump predicts quick end to conflict: US president said Washington would end the war with Iran “very quickly”, claiming Tehran is eager to reach a deal. His remarks came as the Republican-controlled Senate advanced a War Powers Resolution that would require congressional approval for continued US military action against Iran.
• School strike investigation ongoing: A senior US military commander declined to take responsibility for a strike on a school in Iran that killed 155 people on the first day of the war, saying a “complex” probe is still under way.
• Concerns grow over renewed US strikes: Journalist Alex Marquardt told Al Jazeera that President Donald Trump’s patience with Iran appears to be “wearing thin”, despite Gulf-led mediation efforts involving Pakistan and Turkiye. Marquardt said talks have made little progress in recent weeks, raising the possibility that the US could resume military strikes if negotiations remain stalled.

In Lebanon, Israel and Gaza

• Israeli strikes kill 19: Israeli attacks across southern Lebanon killed 19 people, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. Ten people, including three children and three women, were killed in Deir Qanun al-Nahr in the Tyre district, while nine others died in separate strikes elsewhere in the south.
• Hezbollah intensifies attacks: The group said its fighters carried out 26 attacks against Israeli forces inside southern Lebanon, including clashes near the town of Haddatha. The group also reported targeting Israeli troop gatherings in several areas, including Rachaf.
• Israeli strike sparks major fire in Gaza City: An Israeli air attack hit a home in the Nassr neighbourhood of Gaza City before dawn, triggering what witnesses described as “massive fires”. Verified footage showed civil defence crews responding at the scene, while no immediate casualties were reported.
• Healthcare facilities hit in Lebanon: Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health condemned the destruction of a primary healthcare centre in al-Maashouq in the Tyre district, saying the latest strike brings the number of health facilities hit by Israel during the conflict to 31.
• The Israeli military said on Wednesday in a post on Telegram that the sirens that sounded in Malkia in the north of the country were a false alarm. It added that an interceptor was launched towards a “false target” in the areas of Kiryat Shmona and Margaliot.

The post Iran war day 82: Tehran warns of ‘new fronts’ as Trump sets deadline appeared first on Human Right Activists In Iran.

Iran has made a new proposal for a deal to definitively end the war in the Middle East, officials in the region said on Monday, with Donald Trump claiming he had postponed new military strikes so talks could continue.

But while the US president has regularly used social media to threaten Tehran, and to claim that a peace deal was within reach, there has been no sign of an immediate breakthrough in the stalled negotiations to end the war.

A ceasefire has paused most violence after six weeks of US-Israeli airstrikes and Iranian retaliation, but there has been little progress since Trump said the ceasefire was “on life support”, with some Israeli media reports suggesting a resumption of hostilities is imminent.

In a post on Monday, Trump said he had been asked by the leaders of several Gulf countries to “hold off on our planned Military attack [on Iran], which was scheduled for tomorrow, in that serious negotiations are now taking place”.

Trump claimed that the leaders of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia had approached Washington because of the chance of reaching a deal that would be “very acceptable” to the US, and preclude Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Small vessels moored in the strait of Hormuz as the sun goes down.
How realistic is threat of Iran charging to use internet cables under strait of Hormuz?
Read more
The US president said he had instructed military leaders that “we will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow, but have further instructed them to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice”.

The announcement came as Iran’s foreign military spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, claimed Pakistan has shared Tehran’s latest proposal with the US.

There were contradictory reports from Islamabad, which has been mediating between both sides. A Pakistani source appeared pessimistic, telling Reuters that Washington and Tehran “keep changing their goalposts” and that time was running out to find agreement.

Other regional officials said Iran had made or reiterated some concessions, including a long-term suspension of its nuclear programme and transfer of its highly enriched uranium to Russia, as well as a phased reopening of the strait of Hormuz.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency, citing an unnamed source close to the country’s negotiation team, reported on Monday that the US had agreed to waive sanctions on Tehran’s oil exports during the negotiation period.

There was no independent confirmation of the claims, and talks have been marked by a series of misleading statements made by Iran, the US and mediators to try to publicly frame the talks to their advantage.

Rhetoric on both sides has remained defiant in recent days. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened on Monday to impose permits on internet cables passing through the strait of Hormuz, while other officials have said the waterway would remain under Iranian “management”, implying Tehran would impose tolls on shipping, which Washington has said it cannot accept.

Baghaei said Tehran was prepared for all scenarios, telling a televised press conference: “As for their threats, rest assured that we are fully aware of how to respond appropriately to even the smallest mistake from the opposing side.”

Axios reported that Trump was expected to meet national security advisers on Tuesday to discuss options for resuming military action.

But speaking later on Monday at a White House event, Trump said there had been a “very positive development” and claimed a deal was near that would leave Iran without nuclear weapons, which Tehran denies pursuing.

“There seems to be a very good chance that they can work something out. If we can do that without bombing the hell out of them, I’d be very happy,” Trump said.

Though US-Israeli airstrikes have ceased and Iranian retaliation has been scaled back, drones have been launched from Iran towards Gulf countries hosting US military bases.

One drone strike caused a fire at a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates, officials there said on Sunday, and Saudi Arabia reported intercepting three drones.

Iran stepped up attacks on the UAE this month after Trump announced a naval mission to try to open the strait of Hormuz, which he suspended after 48 hours.

Analysts say the conflict is now deadlocked, with both sides facing significant pressure to bring the war to an end, but without sufficient incentives to make painful concessions necessary for a deal.

Trump, who faces midterm elections in November that could go badly for his Republican party, held talks with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, last week in Beijing without securing an indication from China that it would help resolve the conflict.

White House officials worry that Trump’s foreign policy gamble in Iran, and its effect on US fuel prices, may derail Republican chances of keeping control of Congress at a time when voters are more concerned with the cost of living than conflicts abroad.

Iran faces a deepening economic crisis and potential damage to its oil infrastructure. Inflation is soaring and some officials fear a surge in popular discontent with the radical regime.

The Human Rights Activists news agency (HRANA), a US-and Netherlands-based monitoring group, said it had documented at least 4,023 arrests in Iran between 28 February, when the war started, and 9 May.

Charges included espionage, threats to national security and communicating or sharing content related to the conflict with foreign media, it said.

There has been growing alarm over executions in Iran. Rights groups have said that since the start of the war, Iran has executed 26 men seen as “political prisoners” – 14 charged over January protests, one over 2022 demonstrations, and 11 accused of links to banned opposition groups.

Six men have been hanged by Iran on charges of spying for Israel since the war began, according to reports in Iranian official media.

HRANA said it had documented at least 3,636 fatalities, including 1,701 civilians, due to US-Israeli attacks on Iran in the war.

Israel carried out new airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Monday, Lebanese security sources and the state news agency said, while Hezbollah announced new attacks on Israeli forces, continuing the war in Lebanon despite the extension of a US-backed truce first announced by Trump on 16 April.

A 45-day ceasefire extension between Lebanon and Israel is now in effect after a third round of US-hosted talks.

The post Trump claims planned attack on Iran postponed after Tehran makes new proposal to end war appeared first on Human Right Activists In Iran.