Execution of five prisoners, looming amputations in Iran alarm rights groups
Mai Sato, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
Iran plans to amputate the fingers of three men convicted of theft on Friday just days after executing five political prisoners, prompting alarm from UN human rights experts and international rights groups.
"Three men in Iran face imminent finger amputations that may be carried out as early as tomorrow (11 April 2025). The prohibition of torture and ill-treatment is absolute and allows no exceptions," Mai Sato, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, said in a post on X.
UN experts, which include Sato, expressed deep concern over the planned amputations, saying it violates international law and called for the immediate halt of such punishments.
In their statement, the UN experts said the three men were convicted of theft in 2019 and sentenced to amputation, with the Supreme Court upholding the verdict in 2020 despite allegations of torture.
Iran executes five political prisoners
The planned amputations come just days after Iran executed five political prisoners on Tuesday in Mashhad Central Prison, in northeastern Iran.
Left to right- Farhad Shakeri, Abdolhakim Azim Gorgij and Abdolrahman Gorgij.
The five prisoners, identified as Farhad Shakeri, Abdolhakim Azim Gorgij, Abdolrahman Gorgij, Taj Mohammad Khormali, and Malek Ali Fadayi Nasab, were convicted of “armed rebellion” for their affiliation with banned political groups, according to Norway-based rights group Iran Human Rights (IHR).
In a statement on Wednesday, IHR said the five men were executed without the opportunity for a final visit with their families. Their executions came after years of detention, including long periods in solitary confinement and allegations of torture during their trials.
“These prisoners were subjected to torture and sentenced to death following an unfair trial in the Revolutionary Court,” said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, Director of Iran Human Rights (IHR). "The international community and the people of Iran must respond seriously to these executions."
The executions of the five men came on the same day as Amnesty International warned that the vast majority of the executions in Iran last year were linked to political repression.
The rights group reported that Iran accounted for 64% of all known global executions in 2024, with at least 972 people executed, in what Amnesty said is the government's ongoing campaign of mass suppression of dissent.
Iran’s top commanders sharpened their rhetoric against the United States and Israel ahead of expected diplomatic contacts in Oman, boasting of technical superiority and strategic endurance in the face of Western pressure.
“Despite all their claims, the United States and the Zionist regime are ineffective in practice,” said Revolutionary Guard Quds Force Commander Esmail Qaani at an event in Tehran on Thursday.
“They cannot even understand how our missiles strike their targets with such precision. This is our power.”
Qaani said Western-backed forces, though well-equipped, remained “helpless before the will of determined nations.”
At the same time, Navy Commander Shahram Irani said Iran’s maritime strength had reached unprecedented levels, saying international actors now viewed his forces as a superpower.
"Today, the enemies view the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Strategic Naval Force of the Army as a superpower, and the devil is seeking direct confrontation at sea. By the grace and power of God, we will defeat and drown the devil in the sea, just like Pharaoh’s people."
The comments follow recent threats by US officials, including president Donald Trump over Iran’s nuclear activities and regional support for proxies.
After Trump’s threats of a military strike, Tehran has agreed to indirect talks, despite a previous refusal by Khamenei.
An Argentine prosecutor has requested the arrest of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in connection with the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people.
Prosecutor Sebastián Basso, who replaced the late Alberto Nisman, asked federal judge Daniel Rafecas to issue national and international arrest warrants for Khamenei, according to Argentine paper Clarin.
Basso also requested the application of trial in absentia for the remaining Iranian and Lebanese suspects named in the case.
Some of the high-level officials accused in the bombing case include former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who has since died, then-Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, and former Intelligence Minister Ali Fallahian.
Others include former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaee, former Quds Force commander Ahmad Vahidi, former Iranian diplomat Ahmad Reza Asghari, former cultural attaché Mohsen Rabbani, and Imad Mughniyeh, the late Hezbollah operations chief.
The move follows the passage of a law promoted by President Javier Milei last year, allowing trials in absentia in cases involving grave crimes.
The bombing remains Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack. On July 18, 1994, a truck loaded with explosives detonated outside the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) building in Buenos Aires, killing 85 people and injuring hundreds.
In April 2024, Argentina’s top criminal court found that the bombing was carried out by Hezbollah militants under “a political and strategic design” by Iran. Iranian officials have denied any role in the attack, and no suspects have stood trial to date.
In 2015, Alberto Nisman, the Argentine prosecutor who was later succeeded by Basso, was found dead days after accusing then-President Cristina Fernández of covering up Iran’s role in the AMIA bombing. A federal judge later ruled that Nisman had been murdered.
Last year, President Javier Milei announced the new legislation aimed at allowing the prosecution of those responsible. “Today we chose to speak out, not stay silent,” Milei said.
“We choose life, because anything else is making a game out of death ... While they may never be able to serve a sentence, they will not be able to escape the eternal condemnation of a free court proving their guilt to the entire world.”
Milei has blamed the “fanatical government of Iran” for the bombing and linked the 1994 attack to the October 7, 2023, assault by Hamas on Israel. “The terrorism of that tragic Oct. 7 is exactly the same terrorism that attacked us 30 years ago,” he said.
Speaking at a commemorative event last year organized by the World Jewish Congress and the Latin American Jewish Congress, Milei also criticized previous Argentine governments and the judiciary for “negligence, cover-up, and manipulation of evidence” in the case.
In the same week as his speech, Milei’s government declared Hamas a terrorist organization, a move which irked Tehran, and said that “in recent years, a link with the Islamic Republic of Iran has been revealed.”
A report last year by the INSS said the government of President Javier Milei is "an ardent ally of both the United States and Israel", and said the Argentine government still holds Iran accountable for the attacks in 1992 on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, in addition to the AMIA bombing.
"In total contrast to previous governments, the current [Argentinian] regime is willing to stand up to Iran and its axis of resistance. Argentina is no longer willing to sweep the problem under the rug," the report said.
Argentina is also trying to secure the extradition of Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, last year issuing a request to Interpol for his part in the AMIA bombing.
The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on five Iranian companies and one individual for their alleged support of Iran’s nuclear program, the Treasury Department said.
The action targets entities linked to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) and its subsidiary, the Iran Centrifuge Technology Company (TESA), both of which play key roles in Iran’s uranium enrichment and nuclear development efforts.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated the firms under Executive Order 13382, which aims to curb the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
"The Iranian regime’s reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons remains a grave threat to the United States and a menace to regional stability and global security," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “Treasury will continue to disrupt Iran’s nuclear advances and broader destabilizing agenda.”
Among those sanctioned is Atbin Ista Technical and Engineering Company (AIT), accused of aiding TESA’s acquisition of foreign components. AIT's managing director, Majid Mosallat, was also designated for acting on behalf of the company.
Also blacklisted are Pegah Aluminum Arak Company, which supplies aluminum products to TESA, and Thorium Power Company (TPC), established in 2023 to develop thorium-fueled reactor technologies under the guidance of AEOI.
The designations further include Pars Reactors Construction and Development Company (Satra Pars) and Azarab Industries Co., both of which are involved in AEOI-led nuclear projects, including reactor construction and equipment production.
As a result of the sanctions, all US-linked assets of the designated individuals and entities are frozen, and US persons are generally prohibited from conducting transactions with them. Secondary sanctions may apply to non-US persons engaging in certain activities with the listed entities.
The sanctions come amid heightened nuclear tensions and just days before talks between the United States and Iran are set to take place in Oman on Saturday.
The upcoming negotiations, to be led by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff, were announced on Monday by President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly threatened Iran with military action if it does not agree to a deal since returning to the White House in January.
Germany’s Federal Prosecutor says the investigation into the 1992 murder of dissident Iranian singer Fereydoun Farrokhzad remains open, following claims by an ex-IRGC official that the Islamic Republic ordered the killing in Bonn.
Mohsen Rafiqdoost, a founding member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its minister from 1980 to 1999, recently described his role in funding covert operations abroad. His statements indicated that Iran was directly involved in orchestrating political assassinations beyond its borders, including the 1992 murder of Farrokhzad in Bonn, Germany.
Ines Peterson, a spokeswoman for the German Federal Prosecutor, told Iran International that “I can only inform you that the case of Mr. Fereydoun Farrokhzad is not closed, but still under investigation. As a rule, however, we do not comment on details or alleged suspects. Likewise, we do not comment on motions or requests made by third parties to our office. Therefore, I can only confirm that we have received the email you have mentioned.”
The E-mail that Peterson referenced was a letter sent by the German-Iranian activist Behrouz Asadi from the group Forum Woman, Life, Freedom.
The group urged the Federal Prosecutor, Jens Rommel, “to intensify the criminal investigation into these matters – regardless of political considerations. It is of utmost importance that the Federal Prosecutor's Office exhaust all legal means at its disposal to identify those responsible, hold them criminally accountable, and take appropriate measures to protect democracy and public security in Germany.”
The German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) proposed, according to a 2024 report by North German Broadcasting, the theory that Iran’s government executed Farrokhzad because he mocked Iran’s religious leaders during his concerts. The BKA reported said Farrokhzad said during one concert appearance that he had sex with Islamic clerics.
Farrokhzad, who publicly declared his homosexuality at a time when many gay entertainers remained in the closet, frequently ridiculed the Islamic government's restrictions on sexuality.
German-Iranians have long criticized the authorities in the Federal Republic for showing no appetite to solve Farrokhzad's murder case.
Asadi continued that “There is increasing evidence that the IRGC is directly involved in the planning, organization, and execution of assassinations and attacks against opposition figures and dissidents in Europe,” especially in Germany and France, the statement notes. It highlighted the 1992 killing of Farrokhzad as a particularly serious case, adding that legal proceedings are still pending.
When questioned about Farrokhzad’s murder in Bonn, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office for the former capital of Germany, Martin Kriebisch, told Iran International “The exclusive responsibility for any statements concerning your inquiry is with the Federal Public Prosecutor General, so I kindly ask you again to address further inquiries directly there.”
Kriebisch initially sent Iran International’s press query to the Munichprosecutor’s office, which replied that the crime was in Bonn and Munich would be the wrong place to refer to.
Asadi’s letter added that “ In particular, there are statements indicating that high-ranking IRGC representatives—including Mohsen Rafiqdoost - were directly involved in the planning and execution of this crime. In several interviews, he has spoken openly about the elimination of opposition figures, particularly the targeted killing of Mr. Farrokhzad.”
Mina Ahadi, a German-Iranian dissident who is slated to start a speaking tour this month in the US, brought up the case of Iran’s former ambassador to Germany, Seyed Hossein Mousavian, who is currently a researcher at Princeton University, and called for his arrest by authorities because of his alleged role in the murder of Farrokhzad.
Mousavian wrote on X that “After reading the interview with Mohsen Rafiqdoust, ex-IRGC minister, I was stunned, amazed, and shocked...At that time, I was the Iranian Ambassador to Germany, and along with my colleagues at the embassy, I made extensive efforts for the return of Iranians residing in Germany who wanted to return to Iran.”
Iran International reported that Mousavian allegedly played a role in the assassinations of more than 20 Iranian dissidents in Europe in the 1990s, including Farrokhzad. Mousavian, who was Iran’s ambassador to Germany from 1990 to 1997, has vehemently denied the allegations that he was involved in the mass assassination of Kurdish dissidents at the Berlin restaurant Mykonos in 1992.
The former high-level Islamic Republic of Iran intelligence agent, Abolghasem Mesbahi, said during the Mykonos trial in 1997 that "Mr. Mousavian had a role in most of the assassinations committed in Europe."
AAIRIA organized a protest in at Princeton in April 2024 to demand Mousavian’s dismissal. Mousavian and Princeton University’s President Christopher Eisgruber refused to answer multiple Iran International press queries about Farrokhzad.
Iran’s president said Wednesday the country has never sought nuclear weapons, as officials marked National Nuclear Technology Day with a showcase of domestic achievements, days ahead of renewed talks with the United States.
“We do not want a nuclear bomb and never have,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said at a ceremony in Tehran. “We seek peace, security and dialogue — but dialogue rooted in dignity and independence. We will not retreat from our scientific and technological achievements.”
The president spoke at an exhibition of nuclear developments, where he inaugurated several new projects. He criticized Western powers for what he called leading the world into “war and destruction under the banner of civilization and peace,” and insisted Iran would not allow others to dictate its path.
Atomic Energy Organization head Mohammad Eslami said Iran was entering a new phase of nuclear development, including the production of medical radioisotopes and advancements in agriculture and power generation.
“Despite all threats and sabotage, our scientists are moving forward stronger than ever,” Eslami said.
In a separate statement, the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission warned that “any threat to the peaceful nuclear industry will face a serious, decisive and destructive response.” The statement reiterated Iran’s right to nuclear technology under the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The comments come as Iranian and US negotiators prepare to meet Saturday in Oman for indirect talks focused on Iran’s nuclear program and potential sanctions relief. Tehran has signaled openness to diplomacy but remains wary of US intentions.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said the talks are “a new opportunity for diplomacy” and the sole focus will be confirming the peaceful nature of Iran’s program in exchange for lifting what he called “cruel sanctions.”
The upcoming talks have drawn attention amid rising regional tensions and diverging views in Washington and Tehran on the path forward.
Iran's nuclear program has advanced to a stage where it could potentially enrich sufficient uranium for several nuclear fission weapons within weeks.
Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile remains under monitoring and verification by the UN’s nuclear watchdog, but the agency has no longer daily access to the Natanz and Fordow enrichment facilities.
