Iran executes two over anti-government protests

TEHRAN – The Iranian authorities on June 16 executed two men after convicting them for their alleged role in anti-government protests that peaked in January, the judiciary said.

“The death sentences of Javad Zamani and Abolfazl Saedi, armed leaders of the January 2026 coup attempt, were carried out,” the judiciary’s official outlet Mizan Online reported.

The executions were carried out after the pair were convicted of “moharebeh” – waging war against God – and “corruption on earth”, both capital offences.

They were found guilty of “the deliberate destruction of public and private property with the intention of confronting the system of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Mizan said.

Iran has in recent weeks stepped up executions of convicts found guilty of acting on behalf of Israel and the United States, which launched strikes on Iran that triggered a wider regional conflict on Feb 28.

Many of the executions were of people linked to protests that broke out prior to the war, which Iranian authorities labeled as “foreign-instigated riots”.

Iran executes more people annually than any other nation besides China, according to rights groups.

Source: Agence France-Presse, Staff, June 16, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde

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