The key facts

  • Iran executed Ali-Sina Mostafavi (38) in Kerman on charges of armed attacks in March and April, as well as in the 'Dey' protests case
  • Two days earlier, Omar Dorastaran (25) was executed, accused of aiding 'Jaysh al-Adl' in Sistan and Baluchestan
  • Amnesty International condemned five executions in a week and reported at least 2,159 executions in Iran in 2025

Execution in Kerman

On Wednesday, 38-year-old Ali-Sina Mostafavi, a native of the city of Bam, was executed in Kerman. The official judiciary news agency Mizan called him an 'armed agent of the American-Zionist enemy' and accused him of shooting at civilians on Azadi Square in Kerman on March 24, when, according to the agency, one person and a girl were wounded. According to the prosecution, on April 21 he also shot at conscript soldiers and passing cars, wounding more civilians.

Charges and evidence

Judicial authorities also charged Mostafavi with participating in the protests of December 2025 and January 2026, which the Iranian authorities call the 'Dey protests' and characterize as an attempted coup, as well as sending materials to Persian-language media abroad that Tehran considers hostile. Among the seized items, according to Mizan, were a Brno rifle with a telescopic sight, shotguns, 246 rounds of ammunition and 30 bottles of Molotov cocktails. The charge was moharebeh ('waging war against God'), an article of Iranian law on armed confrontation that Tehran has applied to opponents and protesters for decades.

Opposition reaction

Reza Pahlavi, son of Iran's last shah, called Mostafavi on X a 'patriotic young man' convicted after forced confessions obtained under torture in what he called show trials, and urged speaking out in defense of political prisoners facing execution. According to the publication, Mostafavi played the tar, climbed Island Peak in the Himalayas solo and attempted to climb Ama Dablam, reaching 6,600 meters. Before the execution he was held in solitary confinement in Shahab prison; the family was allowed a final visit.

Execution in Sistan and Baluchestan

Two days earlier, Mizan reported the execution of 25-year-old Omar Dorastaran, whom the court called a member of the Sunni group 'Jaysh al-Adl'. He was charged with helping group members infiltrate Iran, arranging housing and transport, and supporting attacks on IRGC forces in Sistan and Baluchestan, including the attack on the Parud base and the March 2024 attacks on military facilities in Chabahar. The 2024 attack on a police post in Rask, in which 11 security personnel were killed, was one of the deadliest in the southeast of the country.

Human rights groups' data

According to human rights organizations, Dorastaran, unmarried, from the village of Cheragan in Rask county, was studying at a religious school in Pishin at the time of his arrest. The local outlet Halvash reported that he was arrested without a warrant, held for a long time without visits or phone calls, and that security forces obtained confessions through torture. The province, one of the poorest in Iran, has long been an arena of clashes between security forces and Sunni and Baluch armed groups; in recent weeks the fighting has intensified.

Amnesty International reaction

Amnesty International on Tuesday condemned the execution of five people in one week in cases related to the January protests and called for coordinated international pressure on Tehran to halt executions. The organization stated that the Islamic Republic systematically uses the death penalty to intimidate opponents and raise the cost of protest. According to Amnesty, at least 2,159 people were executed in Iran in 2025.