Young Karate Champion Executed in Iran as UN Flags Surge in Death Sentences

Iran executed 21-year-old karate athlete Sassan Azadvar Joonqani, detained during January protests, at Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan. Authorities say he was convicted of moharebeh and involved in attacks on security forces; rights groups question the evidence and allege torture. The UN reports a sharp rise in executions and mass arrests since the start of the Iran war, with at least 21 executions and over 4,000 detentions, while Amnesty International notes additional recent hangings. Tehran has pledged to speed up trials and ignore international calls to halt executions.