At a briefing at UN headquarters in New York – the first time the mission has presented findings to the General Assembly – President Sara Hossain said conditions have deteriorated since Israeli airstrikes reportedly killed more than 1,000 people.
According to Iranian government figures, 276 civilians, including 38 children and 102 women, were among the dead, and more than 5,600 people were injured. Civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities and schools, suffered damage.
The government also reported that Tehran’s infamous Evin Prison was hit without warning.
About 80 people, including prisoners, family members (the attack took place during visiting hours), staff and at least one child were killed. The prison housed approximately 1,500 prisoners at the time, including many human rights defenders and activists.
Ms Hossain also expressed concern about Iran’s response, which included rocket attacks on Israel, which authorities said killed 31 and injured more than 3,300.
‘Systemic attack on civilian population’
The aftermath of the strikes, she said, has led to domestic crackdowns by the Iranian government, further eroding respect for the right to life.
The Council for Human Rights-appointed investigators have documented the arrest of thousands of people, including lawyers, journalists, human rights defenders and those who expressed their views on the conflict on social media.
This year, the number of executions in Iran has risen, reaching the highest level since 2015.
Most death penalty cases investigated by the mission appear to violate international human rights law. Legislation was passed expanding the use of the death penalty for “espionage” and criminalizing posting content on social media that the government considers “false information.”
“If executions are part of a widespread and systematic attack on a civilian population, then that is a matter of policy those responsible – including the judges who impose the death penalty – can be held liable for crimes against humanity,” says Max du Plessis, rights expert at the Fact-Finding Mission.
The recent crackdown has also hit ethnic and religious minorities, with more than 330 Kurds and large numbers of Arabs arrested and hundreds of thousands of Afghans deported, researchers report.
Members of the Baha’i religious minority have been accused of being “Zionist spies” and some were arrested in house raids during which their property was seized.
Impunity for ‘honor killings’
Other serious forms of violence have been reported in recent months, including cases of femicide (the intentional killing of women and girls because of their gender).
The mission received credible information that 60 such cases occurred between March and September 2025. According to the mission, “honor killings” and other forms of gender-based violence take place with impunity.
Businesses providing services to women who refuse to comply with mandatory hijab laws have reportedly been closed and surveillance has reportedly been intensified. Reports also indicate that the ‘morality police’ have recently returned to patrol the streets.
The Fact-Finding Mission has increasingly documented cases of transnational repression, including interrogations, threats and surveillance of families of Iranian journalists abroad. It has received credible information indicating that more than 45 media workers in seven countries have faced credible threats.
“The acts of denying justice are not neutral,” Ms Hossain said. “The failure to address injustice prolongs the suffering of victims and undermines state obligations under international human rights law to ensure accountability, truth, justice and reparations.”
‘Rights to life and liberty under unprecedented threat’
In her report to the General Meetingthe independent human rights expert on IranMai Sato condemned the attacks by Israel and the US as unlawful use of force in violation of the UN Charterwhile expressing deep concern that the end of hostilities had not brought relief to the Iranian people.
“External aggression has fueled deeper internal repression,” she said. “The rights of the Iranian people to life and liberty are under unprecedented threat.” Ms. Saito described the increase in executions as a deliberate policy of fear and retaliation, noting that many executions followed unfair trials or vague national security allegations.
The Special Rapporteur – who is not a UN staff member and does not receive a salary for her work – also highlighted a growing pattern of transnational repression, with Iranian authorities targeting dissidents abroad through intimidation, surveillance and threats, and called on other UN Member States to support at-risk Iranian civil society actors and coordinate efforts to counter transnational repression.
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