Iran executed over 900 people in 2024, including dozens of women - UN

Most executions were for drug-related offenses, but political dissidents and individuals linked to the 2022 protests—sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in morality police custody—were also among those executed, the UN said.

"It is deeply disturbing that yet again we see an increase in the number of people subjected to the death penalty in Iran year-on-year," said United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk. "It is high time Iran stemmed this ever-swelling tide of executions."

The 901 executions in 2024, compared with 853 in 2023, represent the highest annual number since 2015, when 972 people were executed, according to the UN.

Of the 31 women executed last year, many faced charges of murder, often stemming from circumstances of domestic violence, child marriage, or forced marriage, said UN rights office spokesperson Liz Throssell during a Geneva briefing Tuesday. She added that this was the highest number of female executions in at least 15 years.

Since the start of 2025, Iran has executed at least 15 prisoners in various prisons, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported on January 2.