Iranian authorities have carried out 21 executions and 4,000 arrests since the beginning of the war in the Middle East, according to the UN.

According to several NGOs, including Amnesty International, Iran is the country that most frequently applies the death penalty after China.

The repression in Iran continues unabated. Twenty-one people have been executed and over 4,000 arrested in the country for political or national security-related reasons since the beginning of the conflict in the Middle East, announced the UN Human Rights Office on Wednesday, April 29th. Since the attacks launched by Israel and the United States against Iran at the end of February, “at least nine people have been executed in connection with the January 2026 protests, ten for alleged membership in opposition groups, and two for espionage,” stated the UN agency.

The High Commissioner specified that during the same period, over 4,000 people had been arrested “on charges related to national security.” “Many detainees have been victims of enforced disappearances, torture, or other forms of cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, including coerced confessions sometimes televised, and mock executions,” added the UN body.

“I am dismayed to see that, in addition to the serious consequences of the conflict, the rights of the Iranian people continue to be violated by the authorities, in a brutal and ruthless manner,” reacted the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk. “I call on the authorities to halt all executions, establish a moratorium on the death penalty, fully ensure respect for the right to defense and a fair trial, and immediately release arbitrarily detained individuals,” he emphasized.