ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian authorities have executed two citizens accused of belonging to a “separatist” group, media affiliated with the Iranian military reported on Thursday, while a prominent rights watchdog said the same day that Tehran had “secretly” carried out the death penalty against two Iraqi nationals accused of ‘espionage’ for a regional Arab country.”
Tasnim News Agency, an affiliate of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), identified two of those executed as Ramin Zaleh and Karim Maroufpour, describing them as alleged “members of separatist terrorist groups” who “were executed on charges of forming a group with the intent to disrupt the country’s security, armed rebellion, carrying out shootings, and attempted assassination in line with the objectives of the group.”
For its part, the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reported that in the final days of the six-week war, Iranian authorities carried out the death penalty against “two Arab Iraqi nationals” identified as Ali Nader al-Obaidi and Fadel Sheikh Karim.
The two “had previously been sentenced to death in a joint case on charges of espionage for one of the Arab countries in the region,” the Norway-based monitor added, noting that they “were secretly executed in Karaj Central Prison,” northwest of Tehran.
The imposition of the death penalty against foreign nationals on “vague security charges such as espionage,” and without a fair trial, constitutes “a flagrant violation of international conventions and the fundamental rights of the accused,” the rights monitor added.
Against the backdrop of the 40-day war that began in late February, Iran has come under fire for accelerating executions, particularly of dissidents, fueling speculations of wartime reprisals.
Between late February and mid-May 2026, watchdog organizations including the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), Hengaw, and Iran Human Rights Monitor (HRM) have verified between 25 and 35 political executions.
Iran has for decades been accused by rights monitors of using the death penalty as a systematic tool of political repression and social control, especially against marginalized groups - such as ethnic minorities, impoverished drug couriers, and low-level users - and dissidents to assert absolute dominance over populations that are most likely to protest.
The United Nations human rights chief in late April slammed the surge in executions in Iran for their alleged "membership in opposition groups" and involvement in espionage.
Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated, “I am appalled that - on top of the already severe impacts of the [Iran-Israel-US] conflict - the rights of the Iranian people continue to be stripped from them by the authorities in harsh and brutal ways.”
He noted that even in times of war, “core, non-derogable rights - such as protection against arbitrary detention and the right to a fair trial - must be respected absolutely at all times,” urging Iranian authorities to “halt all further executions, establish a moratorium on the use of capital punishment, fully ensure due process and fair trial guarantees, and immediately release those arbitrarily detained.”
Turk further censured Iranian authorities over the arrest of some 4,000 people during the same period.
Meanwhile, global rights monitor Amnesty International reported on Monday that out of 2,707 executions recorded across 17 countries in 2025, Iran accounted for the overwhelming majority of them.
“Executions in 2025 soared to the highest figure recorded by Amnesty International since 1981, with 2,707 people executed across 17 countries,” the organization said, censuring Iranian authorities as “the main drivers behind the spike,” after executing “at least 2,159 people - more than double its 2024 figure.”
Last updated at 9:25 am
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