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16-01-2026
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has said the US will take “very strong action” against Iran if it executes protesters, as rights groups say more than 2,400 anti-government demonstrators have been killed in a violent crackdown by Iranian authorities.
Relatives of 26-year-old Erfan Soltani, who was detained last week, told media he was due to be executed on Wednesday. It is unclear whether this has taken place.
A representative from the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights also media, Trump said of potential executions: “If they hang them, you’re going to see some things… We will take very strong action if they do such a thing.”
Soltani’s relative told media that an Iranian court had issued a death sentence “in an extremely rapid process, within just two days”.
They were “deeply concerned that he could be executed without any prior notice”, given that contact with Iran has been affected by the internet shutdown.
Soltani’s detention demonstrated that the Iranian government was trying “to control the population, to not allow any more protests to happen”, Hengaw representative Awyar Shekhi told media on Wednesday.
Soltani’s sister who is a lawyer, tried to intervene in his case but was told by authorities there was nothing to pursue, Shekhi added.
Prisoners sentenced to death in Iran are typically granted final moments with loved ones. While the Iranian authorities have told the family they will allow a meeting with Erfan before his execution, Shekhi said, he hasn’t been allowed any contact with his family since his arrest.
An Iranian official told media that 2,000 people had been killed, but that “terrorists” were to blame. Trump earlier said he planned to attend a meeting at the White House on Tuesday night to discuss the situation in Iran, pledging to get “accurate numbers” on the death toll from the protests.
“The killing looks like its significant, but we don’t know yet for certain,” Trump told reporters while returning to the White House. Once he has the numbers, he said, “We’ll act accordingly.”
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said that it had so far confirmed the killing of 2,403 protesters, as well as 12 children, despite an internet blackout. Nearly 150 people affiliated with the government have also been killed, the group said.
State-linked Iranian news agency Fars reported that funerals were held in Tehran on Wednesday for more than 100 members of the security forces and others they described as “martyrs”.
On Tuesday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that Iranian authorities would “pay a big price” for the killings, and urged people to “keep protesting”.
“I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters stop helps. Help is on its way. STOPS. MIGA!!!,” he added, using the acronym for a US-based Iranian opposition slogan, “Make Iran Great Again”.
Trump has been weighing military and other options in response to the crackdown, having already announced 25% tariffs on any country trading with Iran.
Iran’s government has responded by accusing the US of seeking to “manufacture a pretext for military intervention”, warning that “this playbook has failed before”.
The protests, which have reportedly spread to 180 cities and towns in all 31 provinces, were sparked by anger over the collapse of the Iranian currency and soaring cost of living.
They quickly widened into demands for political change and became one of the most serious challenges to the clerical establishment since the 1979 Islamic revolution. (Int’l News Desk)
