Nameless and Lawless Executions: New Revelations About Secret Executions of Protesters in Iran

New revelations about secret executions of protesters—executions that are nameless and without trial—are reported, intensifying pressure for action against Tehran.

While Islamic Republic officials continue to speak of “upholding the law” and “judicial proceedings,” fresh reports from inside Iran and information provided by foreign intelligence agencies paint a far darker picture: “Killing arrested protesters in secret, without trial, without official sentences, and without recording in execution statistics.”

A number of Iranian citizens say the government, to circumvent international sensitivities, secretly executes arrested protest detainees behind closed doors so that the term “execution” cannot be applied to it; a method that human rights activists view as a clear instance of extrajudicial killing.

The newspaper “Israel Hayom” in a report published yesterday, January 24 (February 4), announced that Israeli intelligence has provided the U.S. government with conclusive evidence showing that the Islamic Republic has carried out widespread executions of protesters in recent weeks.

This report is published as U.S. President Donald Trump had previously stated that one reason for delaying military strikes against Iran was receiving messages indicating a halt to the execution of over 800 detainees related to protests; however, Israel Hayom writes that new intelligence shows these executions not only did not stop, but have continued through different methods.

According to published reports, the Islamic Republic denied the existence of such messages and claimed there was no list of 800 people for execution in the first place. However, the intelligence sources cited by Israel Hayom report direct shooting of protesters in streets as well as executions of some detainees following their arrest. Many videos have also been released showing the firing of “final shots” at wounded individuals lying beside streets.

These accounts are consistent with previous reports from human rights organizations; bodies that had previously warned that the Iranian government, intensifying repression, uses non-transparent methods to eliminate protesters.

The case of secret executions has not remained only in the media and has reached diplomatic circles. According to Israel Hayom, the team of Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister, raised this issue in meetings with “Steve Witkoff,” the U.S. special envoy in negotiations with Iran, and “Jared Kushner,” Donald Trump’s son-in-law; meetings held simultaneously with these two individuals’ visits to Israel.

Furthermore, a significant portion of Trump’s security and political team, including “JD Vance,” Vice President, “Marco Rubio,” Secretary of State, and “Pete Hegseth,” Secretary of Defense, believe that striking a serious blow against the Iranian government not only has moral justification, but is also strategically in the interest of America’s interests in the Middle East.

In this regard, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and several European countries including Britain support military options against Iran and are prepared, in case of an attack, to provide intelligence, logistical, and air defense support to the United States; including in intercepting missiles and drones that may be fired by Iran.

Simultaneously, the visit of General “Bradley Cooper,” commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), to Israel is described as showing unprecedented increases in military coordination between the two sides.

According to an Israeli security official cited by Israel Hayom, the joint target bank has been drawn up based on information sharing and experience from the 12-day war.

Based on this report, alongside the deployment of aircraft carriers and destroyers carrying Tomahawk missiles in the region, the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group is also on the verge of approaching the operational range. Now all eyes are on Donald Trump’s final decision; a decision that could determine the fate of direct confrontation with the Islamic Republic.

While the Iranian government attempts to hide the extent of repression through denial and silence, a collection of domestic and foreign evidence reveals a systematic pattern for the physical elimination of protesters. Executions that don’t have the name “execution,” but their message is clear: “The cost of protest is death in silence.”