Updated

Human rights groups sounded fresh alarm over Iran's escalating use of executions, after the judiciary executed mountaineer Ali-Sina Mostafavi despite warnings of an imminent hanging, and Amnesty International condemned the execution of five men linked to January protests within a single week, with at least 600 executions reported this year. Separately, a 23-year-old woman, Najmeh Amini, was sentenced to death for 'blasphemy' over a social media post, and Amnesty detailed how Iran's legal and judicial system shields security forces from accountability for killing protesters during the 2022 unrest. Adding to the pattern, a source told Iran International that Iranian police killed two brothers aged 15 and 19 near Tehran after firing 36 rounds during a car chase, because the occupants had honked their horn while celebrating the death of then-supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Rights advocates say the cases reflect Tehran's intensifying use of lethal force and capital punishment to suppress dissent.