According to a statement from the Iranian opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the number of executions in Iranian year 1403 rose by 42% compared to the previous year (815 recorded executions). This surge is primarily linked to the failures of the Iranian dictator Ali Khamenei’s regional policies.
Hoping that war in the Middle East would serve as a shield against future uprisings in Iran, Khamenei escalated regional tensions. But the result was the opposite: within a few months, the regime’s 40-year investment in regional influence went up in smoke. The fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad and the loss of Iran’s grip on Syria — described by Khamenei as its “strategic depth” — despite billions of dollars and thousands of IRGC casualties, dealt a massive blow. Syria had served as a hub for training proxy forces and handling logistics and weapons transfers to Hezbollah and other groups.
Khamenei now finds himself in an extremely precarious situation. In his Nowruz (Iranian New Year) speech marking the beginning of 1404 (March 21, 2024), he compared the past year to 1981 (1360 in the Iranian calendar), saying:
“1403 was a turbulent year. The series of events we experienced resembled those of 1981 and brought many difficulties and hardships for us.”
In 1981, the Islamic Republic was seriously shaken by widespread protests from youth and students. That year, on orders from Ayatollah Khomeini, the regime opened fire on a massive protest of 500,000 people in Tehran. According to a UN special rapporteur, this was the beginning of a campaign of genocide targeting young people — including underage girls.
Grim Statistics:
- In the Iranian month of Esfand (Feb 20 – Mar 20, 2024), there were 121 executions — nearly six times the number recorded in the same period the previous year. Notably, the last 20 days of Esfand coincided with Ramadan — a time when, traditionally, executions decrease in accordance with Islamic customs. However, Khamenei has disregarded even this tradition for the sake of regime survival.
- 83% of the executions (961 cases) occurred under the presidency of Masoud Pezeshkian, often portrayed as a moderate.
- At least 38 women were executed in 1403, up from 20 the previous year — a 90% increase.
- Seven of those executed had been under 18 at the time of their alleged crimes.
- Seven people were executed publicly in 1403.
- Many executions in remote prisons go unrecorded due to lack of access.
- Among those executed, 135 (about 12%) were from the impoverished and persecuted Baluchi minority — a disproportionately high number given their population size.
- The ages of 605 of the 1,153 executed prisoners are known; their average age was under 36.
- On two separate days — August 7, 2024, and March 1, 2024 — 29 people were executed each day. On February 26, 25 were executed. Among the victims on March 1 were three Baluchi’s brothers (Jalal, Javad, and Alireza Afaq), two other brothers (Gholamhossein and Ebrahim Khalilifar), and a father and son in Qorveh.
- More than half of the victims (566 individuals) were executed on drug-related charges — even though the IRGC and its associated mafia-like factions control vast, billion-dollar drug trafficking networks in Iran, the region, and beyond. Much of this was exposed after Assad’s fall.
“Tuesdays Against Executions” Campaign:
For 61 weeks, in response to a call from Maryam Rajavi, leader of the Iranian Resistance, prisoners across Iran have observed hunger strikes every Tuesday — the day historically associated with the highest number of executions. So far, inmates in 38 prisons have joined the campaign.
Over 250 members of the UK Parliament from across all major parties have strongly condemned the unprecedented rise in executions and called for an immediate halt.
In one of its statements, the campaign also highlighted another horrific act:
“The misogynistic regime in Iran has sentenced several female prisoners in Qarchak Prison to the medieval punishment of stoning for alleged ‘illicit relations.’ At best, these sentences may be reduced to execution by hanging. We believe silence in the face of such atrocities equals complicity. We must stand against this brutality.”
Maryam Rajavi, leader of the Iranian Resistance, maintains that the regime in Tehran is not only the enemy of the Iranian people but also a threat to peace in the Middle East. She insists:
“The international community must make any relationship with this regime — sponsor of executions and terrorism — conditional on ending torture and executions and must refer Iran’s human rights violations to the United Nations Security Council.”
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