Human Rights in Iran: Analytical Report 2025-2026

Last updated: 5 October 2026

Photo: Isfahan, Iran - Ninara

Iran human rights in 2025-2026 remain in the deepest crisis of any state in the wider Middle East region. The Islamic Republic continues mass executions — at least 901 confirmed in 2024 — sustained suppression of women's rights through enforcement of compulsory hijab, persecution of religious and ethnic minorities, and ongoing prosecutions stemming from the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests. The September 2024 Hijab and Chastity Law has intensified the legal framework. Following the June 2025 Israel-Iran war, the security crackdown has further tightened. This report sets out the analytical picture for asylum decision-makers, expert witnesses, and lawyers.[1]

The evidence base draws on the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran, the UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran (established 2022), Iran Human Rights (IHR), Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, RSF, ARTICLE 19, and primary Iranian legislation.

Political Context

The Islamic Republic of Iran has been ruled since 1979 by a system combining a Supreme Leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei since 1989) with an elected presidency. The July 2024 election of reformist Masoud Pezeshkian followed the May 2024 helicopter death of hardliner Ebrahim Raisi. Pezeshkian's reformist agenda has produced minimal change in practice. The Guardian Council, judiciary, and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) continue to drive policy on civil liberties, religious minorities, and security.[2]

Mass Executions

Iran is the world's leading per-capita executor and second only to China in absolute numbers. Iran Human Rights documented 901 executions in 2024 — the highest figure since 2008. Approximately 80% are for drug-related offences, contrary to international standards that limit the death penalty to "most serious crimes." Many drug executions involve minor Baluchi or Kurdish couriers. Executions for "Moharebeh" (enmity against God), "Efsad-fil-Arz" (corruption on earth), and "Baghi" (rebellion) target political opponents.[3]

The Mahsa Amini Movement and Its Aftermath

The September 2022 death of Mahsa Jina Amini in morality police custody triggered the largest mass protests since 1979. The "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement spread across the country. The state response was brutal — at least 551 protest-related deaths, over 22,000 detained. Three years on, prosecutions continue. See our companion Mahsa Amini movement article.[4]

Women's Rights and Compulsory Hijab

The September 2024 "Hijab and Chastity Law" intensified the legal framework for enforcing compulsory hijab. Penalties up to 10 years' imprisonment and the death penalty (for repeat offences with foreign-media connection) now apply. Enforcement involves morality police (Gasht-e Ershad — formally suspended 2022 but operational under different branding), facial recognition cameras in public spaces, employment penalties, and banking restrictions for non-compliant women.[5]

Religious and Ethnic Minorities

LGBTQ+ Persecution

Iran's Penal Code Articles 233-241 prescribe the death penalty for "lavat" (consensual male same-sex acts). Female same-sex acts carry 100 lashes for first offences and death after fourth conviction. Trans Iranians face complex legal regime — legal gender change permitted since 1987 fatwa but conditional on sterilising surgery; trans activists face arrest. The 6Rang documentation network records continuing prosecutions and family-level violence.[6]

Media Freedom

Iran ranks 176/180 on the RSF 2025 Press Freedom Index — among the lowest in the world. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Intelligence Organisation (IRGC-IO) and Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS / VAJA) suppress independent media. Persian-language services abroad — BBC Persian, Iran International, Manoto, Radio Farda — face family-hostage targeting of relatives in Iran. The Voice of America Persian Service journalists' families have been subject to documented retaliation.[7]

The IRGC and Security Architecture

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), formed in 1979, is the central security actor. Its Quds Force operates extraterritorially; its intelligence service runs domestic surveillance and arrests; its Basij paramilitary enforces "Islamic morality." The Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS/VAJA), the judiciary's intelligence branch, and police all overlap. The US designated the IRGC as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in April 2019.[8]

Post-June 2025 War Tightening

Following the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June 2025, the Iranian state intensified domestic crackdowns. Mass arrests of suspected "Israeli collaborators," tightened surveillance of dual nationals, and accelerated executions all followed. The post-war environment further raises risk on return for many profiles.[9]

Iran in 2025-2026 represents one of the deepest sustained human rights crises in the world. The combination of mass executions, the September 2024 Hijab and Chastity Law, post-Mahsa prosecutions, persecution of religious and ethnic minorities, and the post-June 2025 war tightening produces documented risk for many profiles.
UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran, Annual Report 2025

Implications for Asylum Claims

For Iranian applicants in 2026, refugee protection should be available where the profile fits documented risk categories.[10]

1. Women refusing hijab — particularly post-September 2024 law.
2. Mahsa Amini protest participants — and family members.
3. Kurdish activists — Komala, PJAK, KDPI, peshmerga family.
4. Baluchi activists — particularly post-Zahedan Bloody Friday.
5. Ahwazi Arab cultural activists.
6. Christian converts and Baha'is.
7. LGBTQ+ Iranians — death-penalty risk.
8. Religious converts under "Moharebeh" framing.
9. Journalists with Persian diaspora outlet connections.
10. Dual nationals — particularly post-June 2025 war.
11. Diaspora critics on social media — sur place.

Conclusion

Iran in 2025-2026 is one of the world's most repressive states. Mass executions, the September 2024 Hijab and Chastity Law, post-Mahsa prosecutions, persecution of religious and ethnic minorities, and post-June 2025 war tightening all reinforce documented risk patterns. International monitoring bodies have documented the patterns repeatedly.

For asylum decision-makers, Iranian cases involve multiple well-documented profiles. Refugee protection is regularly granted in major jurisdictions. Country expert evidence is essential to translate the systemic pattern into individualised risk analysis.