TEHRAN, Aug 26, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Iranian authorities hanged two men found guilty of carrying out hundreds of armed robberies in several provinces of the country, the judiciary said on Wednesday.

"Brothers Hamid and Saeed Najafi were hanged after going through the legal procedures of judicial investigation and confirmation of the death sentence by the Supreme Court," the judiciary's Mizan Online news agency said.

The two were charged with "corruption on earth and moharebeh (waging war against God), as well as committing a series of crimes, including widespread armed robbery, carrying and storing illegal firearms and ammunition, shooting at officers and people, and creating terror," it added.

Mizan said they were part of a gang that carried more than 200 cases of armed robbery including attacks on hospitals in the provinces of Tehran, Alborz, Mazandaran, Qom, and Isfahan.

Iranian authorities executed at least 1,639 people last year, a record high since 1989, according to Iran Human Rights, an NGO based in Norway, and Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM), which is headquartered in Paris.

According to Amnesty International, Iran conducts the second most executions of any country, after China.