TEHRAN, Iran — Iran executed three people on Thursday convicted of killing police officers and carrying out operations in favor of the United States and Israel during unrest earlier this year, the judiciary said.
These appear to be the first officially announced executions linked to the mass anti-regime protests that broke out in Iran late last year. The demonstrations initially focused on the rising cost of living before morphing into nationwide anti-government rallies that peaked on January 8 and 9.
The protests were met with a deadly regime crackdown, with activist groups’ estimates of the total number of people killed reaching into the tens of thousands.
Facing pressure from US President Donald Trump, in mid-January, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said of the many thousands arrested, “There is no plan for hanging.”
But after the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran on February 28, Iran warned of harsher consequences for protesters if demonstrations reignite. Israel and the US have called on Iranians to rise up against the regime.
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“Three individuals convicted in the Dey (January) unrest, on charges of murder and operational actions in favor of the Zionist regime and the United States, were hanged this morning,” the Iranian judiciary’s Mizan Online website said regarding Thursday’s executions.
The individuals were involved in the killing of two law enforcement personnel, Mizan said, adding that their execution was carried out after they were found guilty of the capital offense of “moharebeh,” or “waging war against God.”
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran’s Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, January 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
Iranian authorities claim the protests began in late December as peaceful demonstrations before turning into “foreign-instigated riots” involving killings and vandalism.
Tehran has acknowledged that more than 3,000 people died during the unrest, including members of the security forces and innocent bystanders, and has attributed the violence to “terrorist acts.”
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), however, has recorded more than 7,000 killings, the vast majority of them protesters, while warning the toll could be far higher. US President Donald Trump has claimed the number is more than 35,000.
The regime’s attack on protesters came despite warnings from Trump. After the crackdown, Trump said he would intervene if Iran started executing protesters, and claimed that hundreds of planned executions had been called off due to his pressure.
The US and Israel later launched strikes on Iran after unsuccessful US-Iranian negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program, sparking the current war.
Students seen holding up the banned flag of the shah of Iran at protests on campuses against the regime on February 22, 2026. (Screencapture/X)
Israel and the US have killed many of Iran’s senior security officers and political officials, and targeted members and infrastructure of the agencies that carried out the January crackdown. But Iran’s internal security services are believed to still be functioning, and have threatened to treat any further protesters as “enemies” amid the war.
“All our forces are also ready, with their hands on the trigger, prepared to defend their revolution,” national police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said in comments aired by state broadcaster IRIB last week.
Iran has executed scores of people it has accused of links to Israel — which it frequently vows to destroy — and to the Mossad spy agency. One such execution was announced on Wednesday of someone detained during the June 2025 war between Israel and Iran. The previous officially announced execution of an alleged Israeli spy took place January 7.
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