Iranian authorities have executed three men charged in connection with political protests in the city of Mashhad. The men were convicted of involvement in anti-government protests that rocked the country in December and January. Separately, rights groups report that four murder convicts were executed in an unrelated case in Isfahan.
The judiciary also announced the execution of Mehrab Abdollahzadeh, who had been arrested during the 2022 protest movement launched after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in morality police custody. These deaths are part of a broader wave of hangings carried out on a near-daily basis in recent weeks.
The rise in arrests and executions has coincided with the start of a regional war triggered by a U.S.-Israeli attack on February 28. Activists have denounced these actions as a bid by authorities to instill fear in society during a period of domestic and international tension and the war against the U.S. and Israel.