Iran has executed three men convicted of rape, the Mizan news agency reported on Tuesday, amid a broader wave of executions that has drawn criticism from human rights groups.
Two death sentences were carried out on Tuesday morning in the Kurdish city of Qorveh, while another was hanged in the northern city of Rasht, according to the judiciary-affiliated news agency.
Mizan said the man who was executed in Rasht abducted, raped and murdered a 10-year-old boy in mid-2025. He was apprehended the same day after the boy's parents filed a missing person report.
The two perpetrators in Qorveh are said to have abducted and raped a 14-year-old boy in August 2024. No details were given about the boy's condition. The defendants appealed their verdicts, but the Supreme Court upheld the death sentences, Mizan reported.
Human rights groups have long criticized Iran's extensive use of capital punishment, accusing the authorities of using executions to intimidate the population.
According to Amnesty International, at least 2,159 people were executed in Iran last year - the highest annual figure recorded since 1981.
Death sentences have also been carried out against alleged spies and political prisoners during the recent conflict in Iran.
