Iran executes 2,013 in 2025, MEK says as UN condemns ‘execution spree’
Dissident group says 2025 total through Dec. 15 far exceeds U.N. count for 2024; European Parliament and U.S. officials call for action as Tehran faces mounting international pressure.
An opposition group says Iran's execution campaign continued at a record pace in 2025, with 2,013 people put to death from Jan. 1 through Dec. 15, according to the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK). The figure, provided to Fox News Digital, accompanies a United Nations resolution condemning Iran's execution spree in the strongest terms.
MEK's tally far exceeds the U.N. tally of 975 executions in 2024, which the U.N. deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights described as the highest annual total since 2015. The MEK's internal documents show a similar total of 1,001 executions in 2024, underscoring a wide gap between the two counts. MEK says that this year's total is the highest recorded since the 1980s and attributes the rise to a combination of economic collapse, nationwide protests, factional power struggles, and renewed sanctions. The group provided documents to Fox News Digital to support its figures.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson condemned Iran's ongoing human rights abuses, saying Washington strongly condemns the regime's use of executions as a political repression tool and notes that Iranians have faced torture, forced confessions, and sham trials in a pattern that has resulted in unlawful executions. The spokesperson also highlighted that the United States has maintained sanctions aimed at weakening the regime's financial network, including measures against vessels in Iran's shadow fleet.
Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Iran Program, told Fox News Digital that Washington should act more decisively and more quickly. He said the United States has fallen behind peers who have imposed sanctions in response to human rights violations, citing Canada as an example after a December protest in Mashhad. He argued that the failure to take practical steps to support the Iranian people is a strategic mistake and noted that Iran has arrested tens of thousands in the aftermath of political mobilizations, including a June 12-day clash that exposed broad repression. Taleblu warned that Tehran appears intent on presenting a more lenient surface while maintaining a tightly controlled political system to preserve its oligarchic hold after the current leadership era.
Taleblu also suggested that a straightforward, consistent policy stance could be deployed in a March Nowruz address by a U.S. president, arguing it would acknowledge the Iranian public’s desire for change without backing down from pressure on the regime. He stressed that U.S. human rights policy toward Iran should treat support for protesters as an ongoing objective rather than a reactive measure tied to short-term events.
On Dec. 10, the European Parliament marked International Human Rights Day by calling for action against Iran over its execution campaign. Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, urged that all relations with the regime be conditioned on halting executions and recommended that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Ministry of Intelligence be placed on terrorist lists.
Among those sentenced to death is Zahra Tabari, a 67-year-old engineer and mother who MEK says received her sentence after a sham 10-minute trial without her chosen legal representation. The MEK says she was arrested after attending a protest with a banner reading Woman, Resistance, Freedom. The group notes that Tabari’s case illustrates what it says are unfair, expedited proceedings in the country’s courts.
The total number of executions in Iran has doubled since October. The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had previously described Iran as murdering up to nine prisoners per day during the peak of the campaign and noted that death-row prisoners staged hunger strikes in response. Iran's mission to the United Nations did not respond to requests for comment.
Last year, the U.N. and Western governments urged restraint and called for accountability, while MEK proponents pressed for greater international support for Iranian dissent. In parallel, the European Parliament’s action and ongoing sanctions discussions reflect a broader, persistent international effort to pressure Tehran on its human rights record. The situation remains dynamic as protests continue to unfold across major Iranian cities, with rights groups warning of further crackdowns and possible new rounds of executions.
The MEK has urged U.S. policymakers to recognize the Iranian people’s right to resist and overthrow the regime as the only sure way to end theocracy in Iran. Observers note that while foreign policy tools—sanctions, diplomatic pressure, and public condemnation—have intensified, there is no agreed path to a swift resolution that minimizes civilian harm. As protests persist and the international community monitors the regime’s response, analysts say the pressure will hinge on sustained, coordinated action by Western governments, regional partners, and international organizations.