UN human rights experts have said they are appalled by a "dramatic escalation" in the number of executions in Iran, with more than 1,000 people killed during the first nine months of 2025. "The sheer scale of executions in Iran is staggering and represents a grave violation of the right to life," the five special rapporteurs warned in a joint statement. They noted that half of the known executions were for drug-related offences and that nine hangings per day on average had been documented in recent weeks. Last week, Amnesty International and the Norway-based group Iran Human Rights said they had documented the executions of 1,000 people in Iran since January - already surpassing last year's reported total of 975. "Iran appears to be conducting executions at an industrial scale that defies all accepted standards of human rights protection," the UN special rapporteurs on human rights in Iran, arbitrary executions, minority issues, torture and other cruel punishment, and human rights in Afghanistan, warned on Monday.