Iran executed at least 1,500 people in 2025, a sharp rise from previous years, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) group reported Thursday. "It is very alarming," said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, IHR's director. "It is unprecedented in the last 35 years. As long as Iran Human Rights has existed, we have never had such numbers." Earlier in 2024, at least 975 executions were confirmed by IHR and the French group Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM). While the 2025 final count is not yet released, IHR has verified over 1,500 cases, with more than 700 linked to drug-related crimes. Executions increased steadily after the September 2022 protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish Iranian woman who died in custody after being arrested for violating the country's dress code. The numbers grew from 500 in 2022 to over 800 in 2023, then 975 in 2024, reaching at least 1,500 last year. New protests amid economic hardship have also erupted. On Thursday, clashes between protesters and police occurred in the city of Lordegan, where stones were thrown and tear gas was used. Amiry-Moghaddam stated, "Iranian authorities use the death penalty as an instrument to create fear. The aim of these executions has been to prevent new protests. But as you see, these days, they haven't succeeded." However, the current demonstrations are smaller than the massive ones in 2022.