Iran Executes 2 Men Convicted Of Setting Police Officers On Fire  

Iran’s judiciary on Sunday announced the execution of two men convicted over their roles in deadly violence during anti-government protests that peaked in January after erupting weeks earlier over worsening economic conditions.

In a statement, the judiciary identified the men as Erfan Esfandiari and Gol-Mohammad Mohammadi, saying they were found guilty of killing police officers during unrest in the central city of Isfahan.

According to the judiciary, the pair were convicted of “tying police officers to a road sign with ropes, injuring them with stones, dousing them with gasoline, and setting them on fire.”

Prosecutors also alleged that the two men filmed the incident and sent the footage to television channels based outside Iran.

The judiciary did not disclose the men’s ages or provide details on when they were arrested or tried before they were sentenced to death.

The protests began in late December over the rising cost of living before expanding into broader demonstrations against the government, reaching their peak on January 8 and 9.

Iranian authorities said more than 3,000 people were killed during the unrest, attributing the violence to what they described as “terrorist acts” backed by the United States and Israel. However, foreign-based human rights organisations have maintained that many protesters were killed by Iranian security forces.

The unrest preceded a major regional conflict after US President Donald Trump threatened military action against Iran. The United States and Israel later launched a joint attack on the country on February 28, sparking a wider Middle East war.

Since then, Iranian authorities have intensified arrests and executions linked to both the conflict and the earlier wave of protests.

Human rights organisations Iran Human Rights and Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) reported that Iran carried out at least 1,639 executions in 2025, the highest annual total recorded since 1989.

Amnesty International has also ranked Iran as the country with the second-highest number of executions globally, behind China.