An Iranian death row prisoner, identified only as Mehtab (not his real name), has sent out a plea to the world, urging that those on death row not be forgotten, especially amid the ongoing war with the United States. Mehtab claims that the conflict has made it easier for the Iranian regime to carry out executions, as public attention is focused on the war rather than on the suffering of political prisoners. He describes the harsh conditions in Iranian prisons, including severe beatings, poor sanitation, minimal food, and extreme heat. Prisoners are reportedly subjected to unbearable temperatures as prison authorities have turned cooling systems to blow hot desert air, making it nearly impossible to sleep or rest. The prison yard is described as unusable due to intense sunlight and a lack of shade, while medical care for sick prisoners is virtually non-existent. Mehtab was arrested for being a member of the opposition group the People’s Mujahideen Organisation of Iran (PMOI), which is part of the National Council of Resistance of Iran led by Maryam Rajavi. He was detained for opposing Iranian executions and supporting Rajavi, who has proposed a 10-point plan aimed at establishing a progressive democracy in Iran. Although The Independent has not disclosed the specific prison Mehtab is in, it is understood that similar conditions are widespread across the Iranian prison system. Prison officials are also said to supply drugs to prisoners through "secure corridors," a practice that has become a significant source of income for some within the prison system. According to the Iran Human Rights (IHR) organization, at least 537 executions have taken place in Iran this year, with a total of 10,980 since 2010. The UN’s human rights chief, Volker Turk, noted that at least 56 people have been executed on national security charges since March, with 27 of those related to the January protests. The PMOI reports that at least 40 political dissidents aged between 19 and 70 have been executed since March, with over 100 more sentenced to death. In the past week, 11 more individuals were placed on death row for participating in the January protests, which saw tens of thousands of Iranians take to the streets against the regime. The crackdown that followed resulted in a high death toll, with estimates ranging from 6,000 to over 30,000. Human Rights Watch (HRW) researcher Bahar Saba has criticized the executions as "unlawful and arbitrary," noting that they follow proceedings that grossly violate fair-trial guarantees. She argues that the international community must not remain silent in the face of this escalation in executions, which have followed the massacre of protesters in January. Meanwhile, the war between Iran and the United States, initiated on 28 February by the US and Israel, has caused thousands of deaths, the majority of which have been Iranian, including many civilians. Mehtab claims the war has allowed the Iranian regime to "intensify repression and suffocation throughout the country," increasing pressure on prisoners. Those who protest are reportedly sent to solitary confinement and subjected to the harshest punishments. Despite the ongoing conflict, both U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian leadership have shown little willingness to make concessions that could lead to a permanent end to the war. Trump has recently called on the Iranian people to rise up, seemingly unaware that the war has made it harder for resistance groups to operate. A source close to one of six Iranian dissidents executed in late March and early April, who spoke to The Independent anonymously, said the war has allowed the regime to carry out executions without fear of retribution, as public attention is focused on the conflict. They described the executions as a way for the regime to demonstrate that it is "still in power and still killing people." The source added, "I wish there was no war."