cases were related to the January protests, while more than 100 others remain in danger of execution. Additionally, since the beginning of the Iranian New Year, 26 people have been executed in various Iranian prisons on political and security charges, primarily "espionage for Israel."
An investigation by IranWire reveals that at least from the 12-Day War, which began in June 2025, to the present day, just before every wave of executions of political prisoners and individuals accused of espionage in Iran, a potential or active military threat was underway.
Apart from the executions of Esmail Fikri, Majid Mosayebi, and Mohammad Amin Mahdavi Shayesteh, all three of whom were executed on charges of "espionage for Israel" during the 12-Day War, the execution of Babak Shahbazi, a 44-year-old technician and father of two who worked in industrial cooling systems, took place on August 8, 2025. His hanging occurred just two days after escalating tensions and a statement by an advisor to Benjamin Netanyahu, who remarked that if Israel did not attack again, it would be "suicide."
IranWire has also identified a pattern of retaliatory execution sentences that were issued years prior, temporarily stayed, or stalled in judicial proceedings without being carried out. In one notable instance, the judiciary of the Islamic Republic executed six Ahwazi Arab political prisoners - Ali Mojaddam, Moein Khanfari, Seyed Salem Mousavi, Mohammad Reza Moghaddam, Adnan Alboshoukeh (Ghabishavi), and Habib Dris - after seven years in prison, while simultaneously executing Saman Mohammadi Khiyareh, a Kurdish political prisoner, after 16 years of imprisonment in Sanandaj on October 4, 2025. These executions took place just six days after the activation of the "Snapback Mechanism" and the re-imposition of all international sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
