Iran Expands Execution Campaign Against Dissidents as Internet Blackout Obscures Toll

The Islamic Republic of Iran has intensified its execution of dissidents and activists, while internet restrictions and blackouts appear to be preventing a full accounting of the victims.

Since the January uprising against the regime, Tehran has carried out a violent crackdown on opponents.

The Iran Human Rights Society has documented 784 executions in 2026. A representative told Fox News Digital that the figures indicate a rapidly accelerating trend since March and said executions of political prisoners have reached a level not seen in the past 37 years.

A woman lays flowers for victims of executions in Iran during a rally in Paris, France, on May 13, 2025. (Siavosh Hosseini/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

A State Department official told Fox News Digital that the U.S. is aware of disturbing reports about the recent surge in executions in Iran. The official said Washington strongly condemns the Iranian regime’s use of executions to punish people for exercising basic human rights, including Iranians peacefully protesting for a better life.

The official said Iranians have for decades been subjected to torture and sham trials resulting in executions and severe punishments, often with coerced confessions as the only evidence presented against them.

According to information provided to Fox News Digital by the Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) on June 4, Iran executed at least 18 prisoners between May 31 and June 1. The group said 12 prisoners were hanged on May 31 and six more were executed on June 1, including one reportedly hanged in public “with utmost brutality.”

A rope used in hangings is displayed during a rally in Paris, France, on May 13, 2025. (Siavosh Hosseini/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The NCRI has counted 32 executions between March 19 and June 1, including eight members of the Iranian dissident organization People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and 24 participants in Iran’s January 2026 protests.

In documents provided to Fox News Digital, the NCRI said on June 7 that five political prisoners in Sheiban Prison in Ahvaz faced an “imminent risk of execution.” Four of them had been sentenced to death on charges of being members of PMOI/MEK.

Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the NCRI, posted on X calling for urgent action from the U.N. “to prevent the execution.”

On June 2, after two additional executions of January protesters, Rajavi wrote on X that the clerical regime had committed another horrific crime in Iran. She called on the U.N. Security Council and the European Union to condemn the executions and take effective action to stop the killing of political prisoners and protesters in Iran.

The Iran Human Rights Society echoed the NCRI’s account of 18 recent executions between May 31 and June 1. A representative said that despite the internet blackout, the organization receives reports from a network of prison sources, prisoners’ families, lawyers and local contacts, and that all reports are reviewed and cross-checked through multiple independent sources before publication. While internet restrictions make documentation more difficult, the group said it continues to receive, verify and document information.

Alp Toker, director of NetBlocks, a global internet monitor, told Fox News Digital that internet connectivity in Iran has largely been restored, but the available service remains limited compared with conditions before the protests and war this year. For many users, he said, international access remains slow, with signs of throttling and increased filtering, particularly targeting messaging apps.

Toker said the situation has remained in a “limbo state” since restoration, with no significant change for better or worse.

However, the Iran Human Rights Society representative said the actual number of executions is “almost certainly” higher than the figure documented so far. The representative said Iranian authorities frequently carry out executions in secret and do not publicly announce many of them. Some executions, particularly in remote areas or locations with limited access to information, may remain undocumented or reach the organization only after a considerable delay.

The representative added that the number of executions documented by the Iran Human Rights Society has consistently been lower than the actual number carried out.

Dr. Mai Sato, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the increased executions in Iran.

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