Iran executed 58 people in March, rights group says
Iran executed at least 58 prisoners in March, a significant rise from the previous year’s tally for the same month, according to the Norway-based rights group Hengaw.
Iran executed at least 58 prisoners in March, a significant rise from the previous year’s tally for the same month, according to the Norway-based rights group Hengaw.
The executions represent a sharp increase of at least 222% compared to March 2024, when only 18 executions were recorded.
Hengaw said it confirmed the identities of all 58 prisoners executed last month, adding that at least four of them were women, three of whom were convicted of murder, while one faced charges related to drug offenses.
Hengaw said that four of the executions were particularly alarming, carried out without prior notice to the prisoners' families, and the individuals not granted final visits before being put to death.
A majority of the executions were related to drug offenses, which accounted for 52% of the cases, in breach of international law. The rest were primarily linked to premeditated murder charges, accounting for 48% of the total executions, according to Hengaw's report.
Last month, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, Mai Sato, warned that the Islamic Republic is increasing its use of executions as a tool to suppress dissent as she presented her first report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Sato warned of Iran's increasing use of executions to suppress dissent, with at least 169 executions recorded in January and February alone this year.
"Should this alarming rate remain consistent, the total number of executions could exceed 1,000 this year, a chilling threshold that demands a collective global response,” Sato said.
Iran executed 901 people in 2024, including 31 women, according to the United Nations human rights office.
Mowlavi Abdolhamid Ismaeelzahi, said, "In my opinion, direct negotiation is more effective," after leading the Eid al-Fitr prayers in Zahedan, marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
"Intermediaries cannot powerfully defend the country's interests and respond to the other side's doubts. Rather, the person with the pain and the problem can speak better and achieve a better result."
The Sunni leader, who has become famed for his fearless opposition to the government, made the comments on Monday following threats from US President Donald Trump to bomb Iran if it does not agree to a new nuclear deal.
He emphasized the importance of adapting policies to foster progress and better international relations, saying, "The success of all developed and developing countries and nations is the result of creating change, transformation, and innovation in laws and policies."
Abdolhamid's call for direct dialogue stands in contrast to the official stance of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who voiced his rejection of direct negotiations with the United States earlier in the day, although he indicated that indirect talks could continue.
Khamenei's position was underscored during his televised speech, where he also warned the US of a "strong blow" if it acted on Trump's bombing threat.
As Khamenei delivered his remarks, crowds present chanted, "Death to America."
Echoing Khamenei's stance, Friday prayer leaders across Iran, who serve as his representatives, have also condemned Trump's threats.
Mohammad Mehdi Hosseini Hamedani, Khamenei's representative and the Friday prayers leader of Karaj, said on Monday, "Our response to the heavy bombing threat is the repetition of the slogan 'Death to America.'"
President Masoud Pezeshkian has also rejected direct talks with Washington but left the door open for indirect negotiations.
“The response by the Supreme Leader to Trump’s letter was delivered to the US contact in Oman,” Pezeshkian said on Sunday.
“In that response, direct negotiations have been rejected, but regarding indirect talks, Iran has always been involved in such discussions, and the Supreme Leader has emphasized that indirect talks can still continue.”
Meanwhile, economic and political figures within Iran have warned that failure to engage with the US could deepen the country’s crisis.
Khamenei’s senior adviser Ali Larijani and leading economists in Tehran have urged policymakers to seek a resolution with Washington to ease sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy.
Earlier this year, Trump reinstated his “maximum pressure” strategy against Iran. Trump's maximum pressure approach in his first term, which started in 2018, pummeled Iran's economy, causing a dramatic decline in oil exports and skyrocketing inflation.