Impending Mass Executions

Raising the Alarm: Impending Mass Execution Event

The last time the Islamic Republic faced internal and external pressures of the scale we see today, was in the 1980s.

In the years following the 1979 revolution, many Iranians watched as hopes for political change gave way to repression, draconian laws, and public executions. Across the country, opposition persisted, driven by a growing sense that the revolution had betrayed its promises.

The regime responded with violence, mass arrests, and executions.

At the time, access to information was extremely limited. There were few non-government organisations, little civil society oversight, and minimal international monitoring. As a result, no complete or verifiable official records exist of how many people were arrested or executed.

After consolidating power in 1979, the new government moved quickly to eliminate opposition, targeting real and perceived affiliates of leftist groups, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK), monarchists, ethnic minorities (particularly the Kurdish people) and others across the political spectrum. Meanwhile, external pressures intensified, culminating in the outbreak of the Iran–Iraq War.

In 1988, after enduring eight long years of war, a ceasefire was finally reached. But as Iranians know all to well, the end of an external war means intensifying of internal repression. 

The families of those who had been detained in the early years of the rule of the Islamic Republic had to endure the war with little information about their loved ones. Most were subjected to closed trials without the right to legal representation. 

In late July of 1988, many families were suddenly denied visitation. Thousands of political prisoners were disappeared across Iran with no clear answers as to why or where they had gone. Preceeding the disappearance of the prisoners, on 18 July 1988, Iran formally accepted UN Security Council Resolution 598 for a ceasefire and effective end to the war. Six days later, MEK begun an offensive they had named "Operation Forough Javidan", entering into Iran from the West. the Islamic Republic's response to this offensive was named "Operation Mersad" and became the last land battle of the war. 

The regime built a framework around Operation Forough Javidan that it used for the justification of what it would do next: execute an estimated minimum 5,000 political prisoners (Amnesty report for further details). 

The regime claimed that political prisoners, who it had labeled as working with MEK, were traitors. 

In reality, many were young people who had not even been sentenced to death. They had suddenly just disappeared. 

The regime didn't announce the massacre as it happened. The executions were conducted quietly. Families were not given the right to final visitation. They were simply no longer allowed to see their loved ones.

Many knew what had happened, but had no formal confirmation for months, when they were called and told their loved one had been executed and that they would have to go and collect their belongings. 

Didaar spoke with one family member of a prisoner who had been executed who said that sometimes the bag that they were handed was not even the correct belongings.

The families were never told exactly when their loved ones were executed, or where they were buried. In the months of covering up what it had done, the regime had buried those it had unjustly executed in unmarked mass graves.

Families were given no closure, no sense of justice. 

"After we left Iran, for decades, until the day that she passed away, my mother maintained that we should have stayed. Just in case he came home."

Parallels with what is happening in 2026

Those who have been following events for some time, and have learned the patterns of how the Islamic Republic operates, are becoming increasingly concerned that the stage is being set in much the same way as it was in 1988. 

In 2022, after the arrest of at least 15,000 people in connection with the Woman Life Freedom protests, on 6 November 2022, 227 members of Parliament called on the judiciary to act decisively against people arrested during the protests and to carry out punishment carrying the death penalty (UN Press Release Refers). This lead to a huge global outcry for the protection of the right to protest. 

The regime has since conducted over 15 executions in relation to Woman Life Freedom protests, but they were unable to manufacture conditions that would not draw severe international response to a mass execution event. 

Following the "12-day war" between the regime and Israel, the regime once again turned to revenge on its own people, with the Supreme Council of National Security, Iran’s highest decision-making body, announced that so-called actions “in favour of Israel would be met with a decisive response and the harshest punishment” of execution under the charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) and “corruption on earth” (efsad fel-arz), which incur the death penalty under Iranian law (Amnesty International refers). At this time, civilians were receiving text messages stating that even following any pages which the regime deems to be "Zionist" would be considered "spying". 

Koroush Keyvani, arrested on the 4th day of the "war", was charged with "spying for Israel" and his sentence was carried out on 18 March 2026 (Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) refers). 

On 28 December 2025, the people, tired of the failing economy, took to the streets again. Starting with mass strikes and closing of shops, to widespread protests across the country. The response from the regime was very different this time. 

On 8 January 2026, the internet was cut off. All communication was stopped. In the next 48 hours, the regime carried out what may be the biggest massacre since its inception. There are no reliable figures as to exactly how many people were killed or injured, because the three week communication blackout and the nature of the horrific violence made verification of numbers a slow and difficult task. Estimates have ranged from a minimum of 12,000 to over 43,000. The verification of these numbers has been further complicated by the now month long internet blackout from 28 February 2026. The lack of verification however, does not lessen the scale of the massacre that took place. Video evidence shows the sheer devastation that was unleashed on unarmed civilians.

The framework that the regime has been building around this massacre, has been claims that these protests were instigated by "Mossad" and monarchists. This sounds very similar to the scapegoating that took place in 1988, with the regime unleashing vengeance on prisoners it deemed to be "MEK". 

HRANA have confirmed 53,777 arrests in relation with these protests (report refers). Following these arrests, forced confessions were aired, including confessions of political prisoners stating that they had received orders directly from the team of Reza Pahlavi. The regime is attempting to set the scene of an attempted foreign coup, which from history we have seen, it will use to justify the mass executions of prisoners. 

The rhetoric is currently being broadly shared. Last week, three young men were executed. They had been arrested on 8 January 2026 in relation to protests, they were charged with murder and sentenced to death, their executions being carried out less than two months after sentencing (HRANA reports). While this is a pattern many are familiar with, this is in no way justified as anything other than revenge killings. There is no proper due process or real time for investigation, nor appeal, between arrest and execution. And yet, there has been a wave of online commentary defending this unjustifiable action. 

Alongside this, there have been multiple fake reports of executions. 

1. Ali Rahbar - his death was initially announced as an execution, which the regime then denied. Ali Rahbar was torutred and killed 10 days after being arrested. 

2. Artin Nabati - news spread on social media of his execution, however, he had been gunned down while attending the 40th day mourning ceremony of a friend who had been killed during the 8-9 January massacre.

3. Melika Azizi - news of Melika's arrest and execution have been spreading across social media, however, she has been released from prison and is alive. 

The reason for these incidents is for the regime to be able to deny the reliability of reports of executions. This allows them way to cast doubt on reports of mass executions while continuing to claim that external forces are responsible for spreading fake information in an attempt to discredit human rights groups while continuing to commit mass murder with no accountability.

Such social media posts from Western journalists, knowing or unknowingly, continue to place political prisoners at risk.

Continuing such reporting must take into consideration the impacts that these claims have on political prisoners who have no ability to defend or speak for themselves. 

Someone from thousands of miles away, is effectively deciding their fates. 

These words have real life consequences, only these consequences will never be felt by those saying them. They will be carried out quietly, and felt in homes with missing souls for decades to come. 

We must stand firmly agianst the death penalty in all cases. We must firmly condemn any executions carried out without fair trials or right to appeal. We must call for a moratorium on all executions while the regime is under investigation for documented human rights abuses. 

The more we allow this regime to normalise the deaths of ordinary Iranian people, the more they will continue to take lives.

We must not participate in this false narrative that they are creating to delegitimise the anger and discontent of the Iranian people, and we must not allow them to take revenge through executions. 

Stand with the people of Iran. 

For a future where we can all be free of opressive regimes.