A man convicted of murdering six people in a shooting spree was publicly executed in Iran on Thursday, according to the Tasnim news agency.

The man had been found guilty by the country’s supreme court of shooting six people with a machine gun in January.

He was hanged on a street in the town of Arak in central Iran, the agency reported.

The death penalty can be issued in Iran for murder, rape, armed robbery and dealing drugs.

The country has been heavily criticised by the international community for its hard-line stance.

According to human rights organisation Amnesty International, 567 death sentences were enforced in Iran in 2016. (dpa/NAN)