GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — At least 841 people have been executed in Iran since the start of the year, the United Nations said Friday, decrying “a systematic pattern of using the death penalty as a tool of state intimidation.”

The UN human rights office said there had been a “major increase in executions” by Tehran during the first half of 2025.

“Iranian authorities have executed at least 841 people since the beginning of the year,” spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.

“The real situation might be different,” she added. “It might be worse, given the lack of transparency.”

In July alone, she said, Iran had executed at least 110 individuals — twice the number of people executed in July 2024.

“The high number of executions indicates a systematic pattern of using the death penalty as a tool of state intimidation, with disproportionate targeting of ethnic minorities and migrants,” Shamdasani added.

She cited the executions of Afghan nationals, and of Baluch, Kurdish and Arab citizens.

In the first six months of the year, at least 289 people were executed for drug-related........

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