Iran has executed at least 40 people, including 18 protesters, on “national security grounds” since the start of 2026, the United Nations says.
UN rights chief Volker Turk says he feels “deeply for the people in Iran, caught between war and cruel repression.”
Since the start of the year, the Iranian authorities “have executed at least 40 people on national security grounds… including 18 protesters,” he tells the UN Human Rights Council.
Iran executes more people annually than any other nation besides China, according to rights groups.
Turk laments that Tehran has ramped up repression since a deadly crackdown on protests in January, on top of the Middle East war, sparked in February by US and Israeli attacks on Iran.
He welcomes the announcement that the United States and Iran have agreed to move forward on a peace deal, stressing that “it is clear all sides need to exercise maximum restraint and work to implement the agreement reached, quickly and in good faith.”
The conflict, he says, “has had a devastating impact on human rights across the region and around the world.”
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From the Liveblog of
Monday, June 15, 2026
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