Skip to content
Welcome, thoughtbot's Giant Robots listeners!Start here
Mizan
AI-generated illustration
OrganisationIR

Mizan

Iranian news agency affiliated with the judiciary; attributed Lavan refinery strike to UAE Mirage jets.

Mizan announced the hanging of Ali Hemmati, 21, and Majid Nikandish, 25, at Mashhad on the morning of 30 September 2026, both sentenced over January's unrest. Official Iranian sources announce only a fraction of the executions monitors count.

Last refreshed: 1 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic

Key Question

Did Mizan's UAE Mirage claim about Lavan represent a deliberate escalation or bad intel?

Timeline for Mizan

#181 14 Oct
#180 30 Sept

Announced both executions on behalf of the judiciary

Iran Conflict 2026: Iran hangs two men over Mashhad unrest
#155 14 Jul
#106 24 May

Published Kian's execution proactively, naming the struck Iranian installation

Iran Conflict 2026: Iran hangs its first wartime spy
View full timeline →

Background

Mizan is the news agency of Iran's judiciary, the official channel through which court rulings, indictments, sentences and executions are made public. Its reporting on a case is authoritative in one narrow sense: the institution that publishes it also controls the process it describes. That is also its limit, because nothing it reports has been tested by a court or a monitor outside the system.

It sits apart from the Revolutionary Guard-aligned wires such as Tasnim. Each of these outlets publishes under a journalistic banner while carrying one institution's interest, and Mizan's interest is the judiciary's. In wartime that has meant announcements timed for deterrence, with operational detail attached and the date chosen for effect.

Mizan's one notable military claim did not survive scrutiny. It attributed a strike on the Lavan Island refinery to Emirati Mirage jets, a claim no Independent source corroborated and which Fed the confusion of the first ceasefire day. Read it as the judiciary speaking, not as a wire service reporting.

Key Issues
Judicial announcements

Mizan announces the executions the state chooses

On 24 May 2026 the agency published the execution of Mojtaba Kian, the first person put to death for espionage during the war, and named the Iranian installation struck as a result of the intelligence he passed. Kian was arrested in March, so the case ran from arrest to execution in under 50 days. The disclosure of operational damage went beyond what the judiciary normally releases, and it landed on the day a peace deal was announced in Washington.

The pattern held into the autumn. On 30 September the agency announced the Mashhad hangings of two men in their twenties, stating that the Supreme Court had confirmed both sentences first and that both men had taken part in the unrest of 8 January in Mashhad's Tabarsi district, which left four security personnel dead. Neither account has been tested outside the judiciary.

Execution count

Most hangings never reach the agency

Mizan publishes a small minority of Iran's executions. The Norway-based monitor Hengaw counted at least 89 executions across Iran in August 2026, against 67 in July, and recorded that official Iranian sources announced only eight of the 89. Those 81 unannounced hangings measure what the judiciary keeps back.

The unannounced cases follow a shape. Mohammad Amini Dehaghani was hanged at Isfahan on 15 July 2026 over an arson charge from the January protests, with no public record of arrest or trial, one of three hangings in two days. Two Kurdish prisoners were executed at Naqadeh on 21 May. Where the agency does publish, as at Mashhad, the state wants the sentence known.

Common Questions

Reference

How does Mizan differ from other Iranian state news agencies like Tasnim?
Mizan is aligned with Iran's judiciary and clerical establishment, whereas Tasnim and ISNA have direct IRGC ties. This institutional difference means Mizan's coverage prioritises judicial and legal proceedings rather than military affairs, making its April 2026 military attribution claim unusual.Source: Lowdown Iran Conflict briefing
What is Mizan news agency and who runs it?
Mizan is an Iranian news agency affiliated with the country's judiciary, not the IRGC. It serves as the public communications organ for Iran's judicial system, covering court proceedings, legal developments, and official judicial statements.Source: Lowdown Iran Conflict briefing
Has Iran executed more protesters during the 2026 war?
Yes. Mohammad Amini Dehaghani was hanged at Isfahan on 15 July 2026 over a January-protests arson charge, followed by two more protest-linked executions at Karaj and Isfahan on 16 July, three executions in two days.Source: Lowdown
Did Mizan confirm Mojtaba Kian's execution in Iran?
Yes. Mizan announced the execution of Mojtaba Kian on 24 May 2026, stating he had transmitted the location of Iranian defence-industry sites to enemy-affiliated satellite television networks. Mizan unusually named the Iranian installation that had been struck as a result of his intelligence.Source: Lowdown Iran Conflict briefing
Is Mizan a reliable source for news about Iran's military operations?
Mizan is a reliable source for official Iranian judiciary announcements but is not a primary military-reporting outlet. Its April 2026 attribution of a refinery strike to UAE jets was not independently verified, and analysts treated it with caution as a possible information operation rather than confirmed intelligence.Source: Lowdown Iran Conflict briefing
Why did Mizan blame the UAE for the Lavan Island refinery strike?
Mizan published a claim in April 2026 attributing the Lavan refinery strike to UAE Mirage jets, without Independent corroboration. Western analysts assessed the report as either a misidentification or a deliberate attempt to widen diplomatic pressure on Gulf states by linking them to strikes on Iranian infrastructure.Source: Lowdown Iran Conflict briefing

Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 1 October 2026. Editorial standards.