Iran has executed over 500 people so far this year after a new surge in hangings in recent days, despite U.S. President Donald Trump urging the Islamic republic to halt executions, a rights group said on Thursday (August 27, 2026).

At least 511 people have been executed so far in 2026, according to Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights, including at least 29 people in connection with anti-government protests in January.

At least 16 women are among those executed and at least 13 “political prisoners” affiliated with banned opposition groups, it said.

Activists accuse Iran of using capital punishment as a means to intimidate the population in the wake of the protests and the war against the United States and Israel that erupted on February 28.

“All executions, regardless of the charges, have a clear domestic purpose — to create fear and prevent new protests,” IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam told AFP.

“We are very concerned that this trend could worsen in the coming months,” he added.

Since wartime executions resumed on March 19, two people have also been executed in connection with the “Woman. Life. Freedom.” protests that erupted in 2022.

Mr. Trump on Tuesday (August 25, 2026) wrote on Truth Social that “the failing Islamic Republic of Iran is not paying large segments of their military, while at the same time killing protesters, even when they are not protesting, at levels not seen before”.

“It is a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions, and must be stopped, NOW,” he added.

Mr. Amiry-Moghaddam said that during the war the international community focused on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the conflict, giving “the authorities greater space to carry out executions of protesters, political prisoners, and others sentenced to death”.

He welcomed Mr. Trump’s comments, saying that “greater attention raises the political cost for the Islamic republic”.

IHR says hundreds more protesters have either been sentenced to death or are facing charges which could carry the death penalty, including over 70 in Isfahan, the main city of central Iran, which saw intense protests in January.

According to Amnesty International, Iran executed at least 2,159 people in 2025. But authorities now appear to be intensifying executions of protesters and others deemed political prisoners during the conflict.

More than 30 nations, including France, Britain and Canada, this month condemned Iran’s use of capital punishment, saying the Islamic republic was executing protesters to “silence dissent”.

Iranian state media this week announced the execution of Majid Adineh, arrested in connection with the January 2026 protests in Karaj outside Tehran while several others have been executed in the last days following convictions including murder and armed robbery.

U.S. President Donald Trump expressed outrage on Tuesday (August 25, 2026) at the mounting number of executions in Iran of people allegedly involved in mass protests earlier this year before the West Asia war began.

“The failing Islamic Republic of Iran is not paying large segments of their military, while at the same time killing protesters, even when they are not protesting, at levels not seen before,” he wrote on Truth Social. “It is a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions, and must be stopped, NOW,” he added.

It was not immediately clear what new information had spurred the early morning post, but there has been a steady increase in executions since the outbreak of the war on February 28.

The joint U.S.-Israeli strikes which kicked off the war came weeks after the violent quelling of mass protests in Iran.

Rallies initially began in late December over outrage at the high cost of living, but rapidly evolved into widespread anti-government demonstrations that peaked on January 8 and 9.

Iranian authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths, but attributed the violence to “terrorist acts” orchestrated by the United States and Israel. Rights groups based abroad recorded a far higher toll and said the security forces had fired on demonstrators.

Earlier this month, more than 30 countries signed a joint letter condemning “in the strongest terms the ongoing executions of protesters and use of the death penalty” by Iran. The United States, where capital punishment is still legal, did not sign the letter. Since then, at least three more people have been executed in Iran on charges related to the protests.

Iran on Sunday (August 23, 2026) executed a man accused of carrying a chainsaw during January anti-government protests who was charged with acting as an agent of Israel and the United States.

The judiciary said Majid Adineh had been convicted of “operational action in favour of hostile groups” in nationwide rallies that broke out late last year.

He is one of a string of people put to death over the protests, which were sparked by economic hardships in Iran.

Adineh was accused of “deliberate arson, gathering and collusion with the intention of committing crimes against the country’s internal security”, the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said in a report Sunday (August 23, 2026).

“Based on numerous documents and evidence in the case and the defendant’s statements, the Karaj Revolutionary Court sentenced him to death and confiscation of all his property.”

An appeal by Adineh was unsuccessful and the Supreme Court upheld the verdict, with his execution carried out Sunday (August 23, 2026) morning, Mizan said.

He and another suspect were arrested on January 9 in Alborz province, west of Tehran, carrying “a revolver, ammunition, two tasers, two tear gas canisters, a rechargeable chainsaw, and a bottle of gasoline”, Mizan added.

The protest movement was initially sparked in late December by grievances over high living costs but rapidly evolved into widespread anti-government demonstrations that peaked on January 8 and 9.

Iranian authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths from the unrest, attributing the violence to “terrorist acts” orchestrated by the United States and Israel.

The number of executions in Iran has risen since the start of the West Asia war, which broke out on February 28 with U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran.

A large number of the executions have been linked to the protests, with other cases related to the war.

Iranian authorities executed at least 1,639 people last year, a record high since 1989, according to Iran Human Rights, an NGO based in Norway, and Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM), which is headquartered in Paris.

According to Amnesty International, Iran conducts the second most executions of any country, after China.

Iran on Wednesday (May 13, 2026) executed a man found guilty of selling information to Israeli intelligence, the judiciary said, the latest in a wave of executions during the war with the country.

Since the start of the conflict with Israel and the United States in February, Iran has ramped up executions, particularly in cases involving alleged espionage or security-related charges.

“Ehsan Afrashteh, a spy trained by Mossad in Nepal who sold sensitive information to Israel, has been executed,” said the Iranian judiciary’s Mizan Online website.

“Arrested and tried for espionage and collaboration with the Zionist regime, he was hanged this morning after… the verdict was upheld by the Supreme Court,” it added. Iran is the world’s second-most prolific executioner after China, according to rights groups.

On Monday (May 11, 2026), the country executed an aerospace engineering student who had also been convicted of spying for Israel and the United States.

Iran has executed at least 21 people and arrested more than 4,000 since the West Asia war began, the United Nations said on Wednesday (April 29, 2026).

Since the U.S.-Israeli strikes sparked the war in late February, at least nine people have been executed in connection with the protests that rocked Iran in January 2026, another 10 for alleged membership of opposition groups, and two on spying charges, the U.N.’s rights office OHCHR said.