IRAN'S iron-fist regime has gone on an execution spree while the eyes of the world are on its nuclear talks with the US, insiders say.
At least 22 prisoners were killed last week in less than four days as the execution rate surges "dramatically" - with even more now at risk.
Among them are Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani whose lives are in "grave danger" after their appeals for retrial were rejected by Iran's merciless commanders.
Sources say the worrying rise in executions is a "clear example of how repression at home escalates while more focus is placed on nuclear negotiation".
Furious Donald Trump has vowed "there will be bombing" if Tehran fails to thrash out a nuclear deal in the coming weeks.
Attention has pivoted to these talks and away from Iran's shocking treatment of its people, campaigners say.
Between April 21 and 24, 22 prisoners were executed in Iran - marking a sharp rise in a toll that has increased since President Masoud Pezeshkian took office last July.
On Monday, a further seven were executed and on Wednesday another four at Ghezel Hesar Prison.
Almost 1,100 state executions have taken place Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s stooge came to power.
According to figures from the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), that marks more than a 20 per cent increase compared to 2023, when the regime executed 853 Iranians.
Hossein Abedini, deputy director of the UK’s NCRI offices, told The Sun "Although Pezeshkian was described as a more 'moderate' president, the number of executions during his tenure has risen, particularly targeting individuals arrested for drug-related offenses, dissent, and participation in the 2022 protests.
"This increase includes a troubling rise in the execution of women and minors at the time of their alleged crimes.
"Such levels of cruelty and brutality highlight the deadly stalemate faced by the ruling religious regime in Iran.
"Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is desperately attempting to thwart a nationwide uprising and the impending overthrow of his regime through executions and other repressive measures."
The Sun previously told how Iran had accelerated its execution rate in an inhumane act of intimidation as the regime fears being overthrown.
Insiders said paranoid rules were hellbent on stamping out repression on home turf after being left red-faced by the downfall of Syria’s dictatorship as well as severe defeats of its terror proxies.
But now sources say Tehran is using talk of a nuclear deal being struck - and the consequences if not - as a cloak to hide its spiralling execution rate.
Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the NCRI, said: "After suffering significant setbacks in the region and confronting the escalating threat of an uprising and overthrow, the regime has brutally intensified executions and massacres.
"Issuing death sentences to political prisoners arrested during or after the uprising is yet another attempt to intimidate the outraged populace and further demonstrates the regime's fear of an uprising.
"The clerical regime has consistently attempted to use external crises to divert attention from its primary issue: its oppression of the domestic population.
DONALD Trump has warned Iran "there will be bombing
The US president previously pulled the US out of nuclear talks between Iran and world powers in 2018, enraging Tehran by reinstating economic sanctions.
Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz said Trump wants "full dismantlement" of Iran's nuclear programme.
He added: "That's enrichment, that is weaponisation, and that is its strategic missile programme."
Iran claims its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only - but the global nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), says evidence proves otherwise.
By March 2025, the IAEA said Iran had about 275kg of uranium which it had enriched to 60 per cent purity - technically enough to make around six weapons if Iran further enriches uranium.
Iran wants sanction relief in return for limiting - but not dismantling - its nuke scheme.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the only acceptable deal would involve Iran agreeing to eliminate its nuclear programme.
"The recent rise in executions is a clear example of how repression at home escalates while more focus is placed on nuclear negotiations."
It comes as more prisoners face being sent to the gallows after being handed death sentences.
Dad Mehdi Hassani, 48, and Behrouz Ehsani, 69, are at imminent risk of execution after their appeals were dismissed.
Both were given sentences on what campaigners say are trumped-up charges and have faced horror conditions in jail - including torture.
A haunting voice message from Hassani was shared by The Sun last month as he unleashed a blistering put down of Iran’s “cruelty and oppression”.
Hassani was arrested in September and suffered physical and mental torture after being transferred to Evin Prison.
His charges for which he has been sentenced to death include "rebellion, war, and corruption on earth, membership in the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran and collecting classified information".
Hassani heartbroken daughter Maryam blasted Iran's regime for again rejecting her dad's appeal as she told of her family's unbearable pain.
She said: "Hearing that my father’s appeal was rejected broke our hearts.
"My family and I are under terrible stress and fear every day. We live with constant worry, knowing that at any moment, my father’s life could be taken away unfairly.
"He has done nothing wrong — he only spoke up for freedom and justice.
"The pressure on us is huge. We are scared, exhausted, and deeply hurt.
"No family should have to go through this pain just for standing up for basic human rights."
She has called on the international community to do more to halt Iran's callous regime.
Maryam said: "I urgently ask all international organisations, human rights defenders, and world leaders: Please do not stay silent.
"Please do not let innocent people lose their lives.
"Political prisoners are not criminals. The death penalty is cruel and inhuman. It must end.
"I have tried so hard to reach out to international bodies, to members of parliaments, and to human rights advocates like Ms. Mai sato and Mr. Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
"Today, I am asking them — and all of you — once again: We need real action, not just words.
"We need your help now, to stop the executions and save lives — not just my father’s life, but the lives of many political prisoners in Iran.
"Silence allows injustice to continue. Your action can make a real difference."
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