Iran judiciary says man executed over security force death in 2022 protests

Iran's judiciary media outlet reported on Saturday that Iran executed another suspect who had been sentenced to death for killing a member of the security forces during the wave of protests that began in 2022.

The Mizan agency said the sentence against Aref Khoshkar was carried out after legal procedures, approval by the Supreme Court, and at the request of the dead man's parents. Mizan described Khoshkar as responsible for the death of security force member Salman Amir-Ahmadi during the Mahsa Amini protests.

The protests began after the death of Amini while she was in custody for allegedly breaching Iran's dress code for women. Local media reports identified Amir-Ahmadi as a member of the Basij, a paramilitary force affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards.

The source said executions in Iran have surged since the start of the Middle East war, which it said was launched by the United States and Israel on February 28 with air and missile strikes. Many executions were over cases linked to earlier rounds of anti-government protests.

Iranian authorities executed at least 1,639 people in 2025, the highest number for any year since 1989, according to Iran Human Rights and Together Against the Death Penalty. Amnesty International says Iran carries out the second highest number of executions in the world, after China.