Isfahan executions: Iran puts two men to death over police deaths

The Isfahan executions took place on Tuesday, when Iran hanged two men found guilty of involvement in the deaths of four police officers in January.

The judiciary named the men as Amirhossein Maleki and Amirhossein Ebrahimi. It described them as armed perpetrators of the January 2026 crime in Isfahan.

What the judiciary said about the Isfahan executions

The judiciary said the pair were among the main perpetrators and that they were present at the scene with weapons. It said they had committed multiple criminal acts.

Courts sentenced them to death on charges of moharebeh, which means waging war against God, and corruption on earth, through acts against national security.

The judiciary said the sentences followed a thorough legal review. Also, the Supreme Court upheld the death sentences after the two men appealed.

Earlier, in early October, Alireza Sepahi and Alireza Raissi went to the gallows over the same case. As a result, four men have now died for the Isfahan killings.

Background to the Isfahan executions

Unrest began in December as the price of foreign currency jumped, and it quickly grew into broader anti-government demonstrations. Protests reached their height on January 8 and 9.

However, officials in Tehran blame Israel and the United States for stirring up the unrest. Official figures put the toll above 3,000 dead, counting police and security staff. Groups abroad that monitor rights cite larger totals.

Hangings across the country have risen sharply since the regional war started in late February. Meanwhile, Amnesty International says only China carries out more executions than Iran.

Police officer killed in the southeast

Meanwhile, Iranian police said unidentified attackers killed one of their officers in the restive southeast. State media reported that gunmen attacked a Criminal Investigation Police officer in Saravan county in Sistan-Baluchistan province.

Police named the dead man as Third Lieutenant Hojat Vafakardeh. They said police and security forces are working to identify and arrest those responsible. Nobody has said who carried it out.

Sistan-Baluchistan is one of Iran’s poorest provinces. The province shares borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan. Security forces have fought armed groups there for years, separatists among them.

Many residents are Baluch, and most of them are Sunni Muslims, in a country that is mainly Shia.

Other incidents this week

On Monday, a state-linked news agency reported that terrorist groups attacked a vehicle carrying several engineers and contractors in the same area. In addition, on Monday the local Revolutionary Guards headquarters said its forces ambushed a team before it could carry out an operation, killing one member and arresting several others.

Last Thursday, the intelligence ministry said it dismantled four operational cells of a terrorist-takfiri group and arrested 16 people. It added that it detained three more people on suspicion of passing information to “US-Zionist centres”, though it offered no further detail.

In mid-October, gunmen killed two members of Iran’s security forces in separate attacks in the region.

For now, the Isfahan executions add to a rising count of death sentences carried out since the war began. Also, the Isfahan executions came as security forces faced fresh attacks in the southeast.