Iranian authorities executed two men on Monday after convicting them of membership in a banned opposition group and attempting to overthrow the Islamic republic, the judiciary said.

“After confirmation and final approval of the sentence by the Supreme Court, Akbar Daneshvarkar and Mohammad Taghavi-Sangdehi were hanged this morning,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said.

The executions come as Iran is at war with the United States and Israel following strikes against the Islamic republic on February 28 that triggered a wider regional conflict.

The two executed men were affiliated with the People’s Mujahedin of Iran, also known as Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK), which has been in exile since the 1980s and is designated as a terrorist organisation by Tehran.

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It was not immediately clear when they were arrested or whether they were involved in recent protests, but Mizan said they had taken part in “riots and urban terrorist actions”.

Mizan said they were charged with participating in “terrorist acts”, carrying out actions aimed at overthrowing the Islamic republic, and disrupting national security.

Protests in Iran began in late December over rising living costs and later escalated into nationwide anti-government demonstrations, peaking on January 8 and 9.

Authorities say the protests, initially peaceful, turned into “foreign-instigated riots” involving killings and vandalism.

Tehran says more than 3,000 people were killed during the unrest, including security personnel and civilians, and attributes the violence to “terrorist acts”.

However, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has recorded more than 7,000 deaths, most of them protesters, while warning the true toll could be higher.

AFP