TEHRAN — Iran carried out the execution of three men convicted of murdering law enforcement officers during widespread civil unrest that gripped the Islamic Republic in the months before regional hostilities erupted last year.

The judiciary announced the executions without providing the names of those put to death, stating only that they had been found guilty of killing two police personnel during what authorities described as acts of terrorism against state security. The executions were carried out at dawn Wednesday at Evin Prison in the capital, according to judicial sources.

"These individuals were convicted through due process of deliberately targeting security forces who were maintaining public order," said Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, Iran's prosecutor general, in a statement released by state media. The timing of the executions coincides with the Persian New Year period, when Iran traditionally announces major judicial decisions.

Human rights organizations have documented more than 200 executions related to the 2025 protests, which began over economic grievances but evolved into broader challenges to clerical rule. "Iran is using capital punishment as a tool of political repression, executing protesters to send a message of deterrence," said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran, speaking from New York. The protest movement lost momentum as regional tensions escalated into armed conflict, allowing authorities to intensify their crackdown under emergency powers.