Iran executes two more men in connection with protests

Iran drew international condemnation on Saturday as it executed two men for killing a paramilitary force member in November during unprecedented protests sparked by Mahsa Amini's death in custody.

The latest hangings double the number of executions to four over the nationwide unrest, which has escalated since mid-September into calls for an end to Iran's clerical regime.

They also come in defiance of a campaign by international rights groups for the lives of the two men to be spared.

Judicial news agency Mizan Online reported that "Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini, the main perpetrators of the crime that led to the martyrdom of Ruhollah Ajamian, were hanged this morning."

Prosecutors said the 27-year-old militiaman was stripped naked and killed by a group of mourners who had been paying tribute to a slain protester, Hadis Najafi.

The UN human rights office condemned the executions, which it said followed "unfair trials based on forced confessions".Washington said it condemned them "in the strongest terms".

"These executions are a key component of the regime's effort to suppress protests," State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

The European Union said it was "appalled" by the use of the death penalty against civilian protesters.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the executions "strengthen us in our desire to raise the pressure further on Tehran with the EU".

Iranian authorities have arrested thousands in their crackdown on the wave of demonstrations that began after the September 16 death of Iranian Kurdish woman Amini, 22, following her arrest for allegedly breaching Iran's dress code for women.

Two other men were put to death in December, sparking global...