August 2025 witnessed a brutal and unprecedented surge in human rights violations by the Iranian regime, escalating its campaign of repression across the country. A staggering 173 executions were carried out, including 8 women, and 2 in public. The month was also marked by a wide-ranging crackdown on supporters and family members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), arbitrary arrests, the issuance of new politically motivated death sentences, and the egregious destruction of burial sites for PMOI/MEK victims from the 1980s. Since the beginning of Pezeshkian’s presidency in July 2024, the total number of executions has surpassed 1,670.
Executions in August
Total executions: 173
Public executions: 2, in Kordkuy and Larestan
Women executed: 8, including Nahid Jokar, Mahtab Bayati, Soudabeh Ghasemzadeh, Maliheh Haghi, Mahsa Akbari, Mitra Yasini, and Banoo Moghaddam, along with one unnamed woman in Khorramabad
Executed on “espionage” charges: 2, Roozbeh Vadi and an unnamed individual
Detailed Breakdown by Date:
Early August (August 2–August 6):
August 2: 2 executions: Fouad Azar (35) in Yasuj and Sajad Zare (35) in Gachsaran.
August 3: 17 executions, including Saber Azizpour, Rasoul Arabi, Moslem Jalali, Mohammad Garrousi, Reza Bakhtavar, Fariborz Haghi, Meysam Joudi, Sajad Pourdanesh, Eghbal Abdali, Hassan Ramezani, a woman in Khorramabad, and 5 other prisoners.
August 4: 8 executions: Mohammad Golestani (30), Bahman Pirouzaei (30), Davoud Najibollahi (40), and Reza Sarparast (30) in Mashhad; Matin Shahbazzadeh (24), Hessam Moloudi (29), and Enayat Semsari (36) in Tabriz; and Hamid Soroush in Nur.
August 5: 5 executions: Ali Showkat (34) in Saveh; Ali Hosseinpour (35) and Mohammad Abakhti in Karaj; Farzad Yari in Malayer; and Jahanshah Iravani in Semnan.
August 6: At least 16 executions. This includes Roozbeh Vadi (40), executed for “espionage and intelligence collaboration” and allegedly transferring information about a “nuclear scientist” to Israel; Mehdi Asgharzadeh (35); Ali Rajaei (33); Reza Sharifzadeh (35); Mojtaba Izadi (35); Hasan Amousi; Manouchehr and Ehsan Saeedi; Kamran Amraei; Mostafa Mirahmadi; Gholam Sa’edian; Farhad Tavakkoli; Hossein Rostami; and Naser Jalali. This period saw at least 29 executions between August 3 and 6 alone.
Mid-August (August 9–August 18):
August 9: 4 executions: Bahador Eliasi (31), Soleiman Naseri, and Sajjad Habibi (38) in Kermanshah; and Tayeb Mahmoudi (26) in Ahvaz.
August 10: 5 executions: Hesam Salari (20) in Saravan; Bahman Sheibak (35) in Birjand; Ahmadreza Torkashvand and another prisoner in Arak; and Kioumars Fatehi (33) in Zanjan.
August 11: 7 executions: Yaser Sagvand in Khorramabad; Zaker Aramesh (27); Ali Mobasher (40); Hossein Rezaei; Soudabeh Ghasemzadeh (female) in Isfahan; Saber Akbari in Nahavand; and Amir Hosseinpour (34) in Ilam.
August 12: 4 executions: Hamid Sarlak in Dezful; Afshin Dehghan (36), Peyman Eghbali (37), and Mehran Imani (31) in Shiraz.
August 13: 3 executions: Javad Esfandiari in Hamedan, Eskandar Bazmandegan in Shiraz, and another prisoner in Borazjan.
August 16: 3 executions: Jafar Sadeghi (35) in Rasht; Houshang Fathi (30); and Siamand Sa’adati (41) in Sari.
August 17: 4 executions: Mehdi Najafi (26), Ahmadreza Younesi Golehzan (28), and Salar Rahimzadeh (38) in Shiraz; and Mohammad Baghlani (26) in Ahvaz.
August 18: 6 executions: Ali Omidi Moghadam and Iman Jowzi in Khorramabad; Arash Mahjour (36) and Behrouz Sedghi (28) in Isfahan; Davoud Kashani in Hamedan; and Saman Ghamaei in Amol.
Late August (August 19–August 31):
August 19: 10 executions, including Sajjad Hekani, who was publicly hanged in Larestan, Fars; Allah-Nazar Tajik (30); Abdolraouf Noorzehi; Abdolrahman Es-haqzehi; Mehrdad and three other prisoners in Bandar Abbas; Milad Narouyi (Naderi) (29); and Hafiz Siyah Khani (38).
August 20: 13 executions: Safarali Keyfari in Kerman; Karam Jaberi in Qazvin; Amir Mohammad Faroughi (26) in Qorveh; Mokhtar Fazeli (32) in Ahvaz; Hassan Mokhtari and Farshad Hamgan in Rasht; Mahsa Akbari (35, wife of Sajjad Molaei) in Shiraz; Morteza Sayevand (35); Reza Abbasi (40); Hossein Karimi (35); Taleb Rikani in Isfahan; Yashar Lehji; and Naqi Shahi (37) in Tabriz.
August 21: 5 executions, including Mehdi Kazemi (37), Shamsollah Kheiri (27), and Abdol Sabzi (34) in Isfahan; Abdolamir Hasangol in Dezful; and Naqi Damghani, publicly executed in Kordkuy.
August 23: 2 executions: Asad Shabani (28) in Neyshabur, and Taher Firoozi (31) in Gorgan.
August 26: 6 executions: Ahmad Dahani (30) in Zahedan; Navab Popalzai (28) in Bandar Abbas; Ehsan Khani in Nahavand; Asef Rakhshani (28); Behzad Navaei in Birjand; and Maliheh Haghi (34, female) in Tabriz.
August 27: 17 executions, including Majid Abedi (35) in Semnan; Samad Seyed Hosseini and Sajad Qolizadeh in Yasuj; Arman Aghcheli in Gorgan; Hassan Saffariyan (35) and Milad Mohammadsalehi (32), and Mitra Yasini (female) in Shiraz; Hesam Dadkhah in Isfahan; Mashaallah Nikoufal and Faramarz Shahbazi in Qezel Hesar.
August 28: 2 executions: Mehdi Raoufi in Qezel Hesar and Banoo Moghaddam (60, female) in Abhar.
August 30: 1 execution: Hamid Kakavand in Qezel Hesar.
August 31: 12 executions: Rahman Javan Chonqoralovikan (33), Morteza Zichi (34), and Javad Mali (Aali) in Urmia; Ali Yavari in Hamedan; Jassem Norouzi in Arak; Ali Mirzaqolikhani in Rasht; Akbar Abbaspour in Sanandaj; Hamed Barahouei (Bajizehi Mingel) (25) and another prisoner in Zahedan; Armin Reihani (27) and Esmail Delavari Shouli (26) in Shiraz; and Soleiman Koushki in Qezel Hesar.
Crackdown on Dissent: Arrests of PMOI/MEK Supporters and Families
The Iranian authorities intensified its crackdown on dissent in August, specifically targeting released prisoners, supporters, and family members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
Mohammad Banazadeh Amirkhizi, 79, a former political prisoner and brother of PMOI/MEK members Ali and Sakineh Amirkhizi, was arrested on July 28 and transferred to solitary confinement in Qom. Mohammad Amirkhizi suffers from prostate cancer and other illnesses.
Amirhossein Keshvarifar, a 20-year-old student and nephew of political prisoners Mohammad and Mehdi Khodakarami (imprisoned for PMOI membership), was arrested on July 21 in Khorramabad.
Hossein Asemaninejad, 64, a former political prisoner from the 1980s, was arrested on July 1 in Kiashahr.
Hamidreza Makki, 68, a former political prisoner from the 1980s and brother of current political prisoner Majidreza Makki, was arrested on June 29 in Karaj.
Morteza Asadi, 47, a dismissed professor with a PhD in Political Science, was arrested on June 21 in Tehran. He had been previously arrested in 2009 and 2019.
Nader Teimouri, a former political prisoner from 1980-1988 and a witness to the 1988 massacre, was arrested on June 21 in Sorkheh Hesar.
Fatemeh (Houri) Ziaei Azad, 68, a political prisoner of the 1980s who has spent 13 years in prison and suffers from advanced MS, was arrested on August 6 for the seventh time, just months after her release due to her severe illness.
Harsh Sentences and Imminent Risk of Political Executions
August 2025 witnessed a continuation of politically motivated death sentences and arbitrary judicial actions against dissidents.
Ali Younesi (25) and Amirhossein Moradi (26), elite students of Sharif University of Technology and PMOI/MEK supporters, had their sentences extended with additional imprisonment. Ali Younesi received an additional 5 years for the fabricated charge of “endorsing and supporting the Zionist regime,” along with exile to Kerman Prison and severe communication restrictions.
Five political prisoners on death row—Vahid Bani-Amerian, Pouya Ghobadi, Shahrokh Daneshvarkar, Mohammad Taghavi, and Babak Alipour—were violently separated from other inmates and transferred to an unknown location, believed to be Qezel Hesar Prison, where executions are carried out. All contact with their families has been cut off since August 8, raising grave concerns for their lives. These prisoners were sentenced to death in December 2024 for “membership in the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK)” and “armed rebellion against the state.”
The death sentence of Kurdish political prisoner Sharifeh Mohammadi was upheld by the regime’s Supreme Court.
The uncertain situation of Bijan Kazemi continues, as he remains in detention after seven months of torture in various wards and a safe house in Qom. Despite relatives securing a 4-billion-toman bail, the judiciary, on orders from the Ministry of Intelligence, has refused his release.
Erasing History: Destruction of PMOI/MEK Victims’ Burial Sites
In a criminal act aimed at obliterating evidence of its past atrocities, the Iranian authorities began destroying and leveling Section 41 of Behesht Zahra Cemetery, the burial site of thousands of PMOI/MEK members executed in the 1980s.
Heavy machinery was used, with intelligence agents present to prevent public access.
On August 19, Davoud Goodarzi, Tehran’s Deputy Mayor, admitted that “Section 41 was just left there, and we needed a parking lot, so we got permission from the officials and turned it into a parking lot.” This confession implicates high-ranking state authorities, likely including Ali Khamenei.
This act is part of a systemic effort to destroy evidence of past massacres. Previous instances include the destruction of graves in Vadi Rahmat Cemetery in Tabriz (2017), Behesht-e Reza Cemetery in Mashhad, and mass graves in Ahvaz, as well as attempts to obliterate the Khavaran Cemetery in 2021.
Professor Javaid Rehman, then-UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, described the 1980s executions as “crimes against humanity and genocide,” urging UN member states to use universal jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute those responsible.
Conclusion
The human rights situation in Iran dramatically worsened in August 2025, with the regime deploying an unprecedented wave of executions, arbitrary arrests, judicial abuses, and even the destruction of historical burial sites.
Iran HRM urges the international community, including the UN Human Rights Council, the EU, and human rights organizations worldwide, to:
- Demand an immediate moratorium on all executions in Iran.
- Condemn the political executions and arbitrary death sentences.
- Exert concerted pressure on the Iranian regime to release all political prisoners.
- Dispatch an international fact-finding mission to inspect Iran’s prisons and meet with prisoners.
The international community must not remain silent in the face of such medieval savagery, which tramples upon the fundamental values of human rights and democracy.
