Two men convicted on terrorism-related charges have been executed in Iran, the country’s judiciary said on Wednesday, citing a statement by the Judiciary’s Mizan News Agency. The men, identified as Ramin Zaleh and Karim Maroufpour, were hanged after the Supreme Court upheld death sentences against them for alleged involvement in armed activities linked to separatist organisations, according to the report.
The judiciary’s media centre said the two had collaborated over several years with what authorities described as separatist terrorist groups and operated as part of a clandestine armed cell affiliated with those organisations. They were charged with membership in terrorist groups, forming an armed group with the aim of undermining national security, taking up arms against the state, and involvement in shootings and assassination attempts, the report said.
According to details attributed to his confessions, Zaleh had received training and was tasked with acting as a leader during periods of unrest inside the country. He allegedly admitted that he and others, including Maroufpour, planned and carried out an attempt to assassinate the commander of an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps base in western Iran.
The report said Zaleh acknowledged forming a “terror team” that opened fire with two magazines of ammunition at a vehicle carrying military personnel and recorded video footage of the attack. The group was also accused of assembling another team to target a separate individual and of conducting at least one armed attack against a military base, which was likewise filmed.
In statements also cited by Mizan, Maroufpour was said to have confessed that he was fully aware of the group’s armed activities and that one of his main responsibilities was storing weapons for planned operations. He reportedly told investigators that he handled four firearms in total, including two Kalashnikov rifles and two pistols that had been transferred into Iran for the group’s activities.
After their arrest, prosecutors issued formal indictments and the case proceeded to trial with defence lawyers present, according to the judiciary’s account. On the basis of evidence cited in the case file—including the defendants’ detailed confessions and the alleged armed operations against state and military targets—the court sentenced both men to death for membership in a terrorist group, forming a covert armed cell and engaging in armed action against the Islamic Republic.
The men appealed, but the Supreme Court rejected their petitions and upheld the verdicts, the report said. Judicial officials stated that, following the completion of all legal procedures, Zaleh and Maroufpour, described as members of separatist terrorist organisations, were executed by hanging on the morning of 21 May 2026.