Three people were hanged on Tuesday in central and south-eastern Iran, state media reported, the latest in the spiraling number of executions in the Islamic Republic.

Authorities hanged two men in a prison in the city of Isfahan, central Iran, the government-run news agency Fars said.

They were identified as Mahmoud, 33; and Yaser K., 22. They were both accused of murder.
Separately, the official news agency IRNA reported that a man was hanged in a prison in Zahedan. The report did not name the man. It said that he had been convicted of drug trafficking.

AFP reported that the latest hangings bring to at least 158 the number of executions in Iran this year, according to an AFP count.

Authorities hanged 29 people in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison on Sunday, drawing a sharp rebuke from the European Union on Tuesday.