TEHRAN — Iran’s top police commander issued a three-day ultimatum to demonstrators on Monday, warning those who joined what authorities call “riots” to surrender or face the full force of the law, as the government simultaneously pledged to tackle the economic pain that helped spark the unrest.
National police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan urged young people “deceived” into joining the turmoil to turn themselves in and receive lighter punishment. Officials maintain protests were initially peaceful but descended into chaos stoked by Iran’s adversaries, including the United States and Israel, in a bid to destabilize the country.
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The order, delivered amid a continuing internet blackout that has obscured the full scope of the violence, follows weeks of demonstrations that rights groups say have left thousands dead — the most serious challenge to Iran’s leadership in years. The death toll could not be independently verified.
In a joint statement carried by state television, the heads of Iran’s executive, legislative and judicial branches said they would work “around the clock” to address “livelihood and economic problems,” a central grievance voiced by protesters as inflation and unemployment strain households. But they also vowed to “decisively punish” those they described as instigators of “terrorist incidents,” signaling no retreat from a crackdown that has widened arrests and prosecutions.
The statement bore the names of President Masoud Pezeshkian, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei.
The ultimatum landed as international alarm grew over Iran’s use of capital punishment. The United Nations said Iran appears to be using executions as “a tool of state intimidation,” with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk reporting that the Islamic Republic executed an estimated 1,500 people last year, significantly contributing to a global rise in the death penalty in 2025.
“The scale and pace of executions suggest a systematic use of capital punishment as a tool of state intimidation, with disproportionate impact on ethnic minorities and migrants,” Türk said, according to a statement from his office. Rights monitors have long identified Iran as one of the world’s most prolific executioners after China.
Drug-related offenses not involving intentional killing accounted for at least 47% of Iran’s executions in 2025, the UN rights office said — a practice it deems incompatible with international law and ineffective as a deterrent. The office also criticized cases involving alleged offenses committed by children and persistent secrecy around execution procedures.
The UN noted sharp increases in executions in a handful of countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United States, even as the wider global trend continues toward abolition. It also flagged public executions in Afghanistan, executions in Somalia and Singapore, and legislative proposals in Israel that would expand capital punishment, as well as executions carried out by Hamas in Gaza.
Inside Iran, the mounting use of the death penalty has fueled fears that protesters and perceived dissidents could face capital charges, particularly under security and drug laws that carry harsh sentences. Advocacy groups warn of due process violations, while the ongoing connectivity restrictions and pressure on lawyers and families make independent scrutiny difficult.
Iranian authorities, for their part, have framed the unrest as a law-and-order crisis exploited by foreign powers and have portrayed the three-day window to surrender as an avenue to leniency for those who step forward. The government’s parallel pledge to tackle economic hardship underscores the dual-track approach: promise relief for a battered public while tightening enforcement against demonstrators it labels violent.
With the ultimatum ticking down and communications throttled, the scale of further arrests — and whether economic concessions will materialize — remains unclear. What is clear is that Iran’s leadership is moving to contain the challenge at home even as international scrutiny over its record on executions intensifies.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
