In late 2025, the United Nations once again sounded the alarm over Iran’s human rights record. A resolution adopted by the UN Third Committee detailed mass executions, arbitrary arrests, systematic discrimination against women and minorities, cross-border intimidation of dissidents, and renewed attention to the 1988 massacre of political prisoners. The message was clear: abuses in Iran are not isolated incidents, but the result of a deliberate and entrenched policy.
This renewed international scrutiny did not emerge overnight. It is the product of decades of tireless work by victims’ families, human rights defenders, and organisations such as the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), who have persistently documented crimes that the world has often preferred to ignore.
At the UN session, the UK’s First Secretary for Human Rights highlighted Iran’s growing campaign of repression beyond its borders, aimed at silencing journalists, activists, and those who expose abuses. These actions underline the regime’s determination to eliminate accountability wherever it may arise.
Executions as a Strategy of Fear
In 2025, executions in Iran reached unprecedented levels. According to reports by the NCRI, November became the deadliest month in nearly four decades, with hundreds of executions carried out in just weeks. Since the start of Masoud Pezeshkian’s tenure, the number of executions has reportedly exceeded 2,500, revealing the scale of the crisis in stark terms.
Women and even juveniles have not been spared. Dozens of women were executed this year, and several minors were sentenced for alleged crimes committed before reaching legal age. These figures point to a judiciary that relies on fear and violence to maintain control amid deep political and social instability.
Europe Confronts Its Own Silence
On International Human Rights Day, a high-level conference at the European Parliament in Brussels addressed Iran’s deteriorating situation. Lawmakers, former officials, and human rights advocates warned that years of European hesitation and appeasement have failed to moderate the regime’s behavior.
Speakers drew attention to political prisoners facing imminent execution solely for their links to opposition groups. They also highlighted cases of torture, denial of medical care, and the severe mistreatment of detainees in Iranian prisons.
Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the NCRI, urged European institutions to move beyond statements of concern. She called for concrete measures, including conditioning diplomatic relations on an end to executions, shutting down regime-linked institutions abroad, and designating the IRGC and Iran’s intelligence ministry as terrorist entities.
The Cost of Inaction
History has shown that silence and appeasement come at a high price. Each time the regime encounters weak or symbolic responses, it escalates repression at home and intimidation abroad. More than 2,500 executions in a single year, met with limited consequences, send a dangerous signal of impunity.
Yet despite brutal crackdowns, resistance inside Iran continues. Protest actions and underground networks remain active, demonstrating that the demand for freedom has not been extinguished.
The international community now faces a choice: continue repeating ineffective condemnations or recognise and support the Iranian people’s right to resist tyranny. Meaningful accountability, not silence, is the minimum required to break this cycle of violence.