Islamic Revolutionary Court

Islamic Revolutionary Court (Persian: دادگاه انقلاب اسلامی, romanized: Dādgāh-e Enqelāb-e Eslāmī), also known as the Revolutionary Tribunal (Dadgahha-e Enqelab), is a system of special courts in the Islamic Republic of Iran that handles cases defined by the state as "crimes against the revolution" (جرائم علیه انقلاب) or threats to national security. These include charges such as smuggling, blasphemy, "acting against national security", espionage, inciting unrest, insulting the Supreme Leader, and alleged attempts to overthrow the Islamic government. The courts have been described by journalists and scholars as operating with limited judicial safeguards, and the early tribunals were characterised by historian Michael Axworthy as "essentially 'kangaroo courts' dressed in revolutionary rhetoric". Human-rights organizations report that the courts exercise broad discretionary powers, often hold closed proceedings, and rely on standards that differ significantly from those of Iran's ordinary judiciary.

In the years immediately after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the Revolutionary Courts became the primary venue for prosecuting individuals labelled by the new government as political or ideological enemies.

The court was known for its secretiveness, for coming to verdicts with "no jury, no defence lawyers and often no evidence beyond a confession extracted ... by means of torture". From 1979–1989 the Revolutionary Court sent "more than 16,000 people" to their deaths, according to the Iran Tribunal campaign group.

Amnesty International documented more than 1,200 executions in the first five months of 1979 alone, noting that many victims were civilian officials and Artesh military officers and commanders of the former state with no demonstrated involvement in repression. Contemporary observers, including the CIA World Factbook and later human-rights investigations, described the courts as instruments for eliminating perceived ideological opponents.

On 1 March 2026, as part of the 2026 Israeli–United States strikes on Iran, the Tehran Revolutionary Court was bombed and its building was destroyed.