United Nations factfinders denounce Iran’s intensification of oppression since the country’s 12-day war with Israel in June, noting more than 21,000 arrests and mistreatment of minorities and journalists.
“Since March of this year, we have documented further deterioration of the human rights situation in Iran,” says Sara Hossain, who heads the Independent International Fact Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran, a body established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2022.
“Airstrikes by Israel on Iranian territory and a subsequent domestic crackdown by the Iranian authorities further constricted civic space, undermined due process, and eroded respect for the right to life,” she adds.
Regarding the 21,000 people arrested by Iranian authorities during the 12-day war, Hossain says the Islamic Republic has targeted a broad swath of Iran’s civil society, including “lawyers, human rights defenders, journalists, and even social media users who simply published content relating to the hostilities.”
Iran has also ramped up executions, with more than 1,200 to date in 2025 — already exceeding the 2024 total, which was the highest recorded figure in Iran since 2015.
“There are strong indications that the Government of Iran continues to systematically implement the death penalty in ways that contravene international human rights law,” Hossain says.
The investigation also found that the Islamic Republic’s repression of ethnic and religious minorities has “intensified” with “over 330 Kurds and large numbers of Arabs” arrested and “hundreds of thousands of Afghans” deported, Hossain says.
Iran has accused members of the Baha’i faith of being “Zionist spies,” targeting them in house raids and confiscating their property, Hossain says.
The probe also found Iran’s government continuously deactivates journalists’ SIM cards, and repression of the press is “not confined to Iran’s borders,” she adds.
The mission also examined Israel’s deadly airstrikes on Evin prison, a notorious jail for political prisoners.
“Our preliminary investigation indicates that the Israeli airstrikes hit civilian buildings in the prison complex, which do not constitute legitimate military objectives, and that the strikes on these buildings were likely intentional,” Hossain says.
She adds that Iranian authorities may have failed to take reasonable measures to protect detainees.