{"id":111063,"date":"2026-01-14T11:58:33","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T11:58:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=111063"},"modified":"2026-01-14T11:58:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T11:58:33","slug":"trump-vows-very-strong-action-if-iran-executes-protesters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=111063","title":{"rendered":"Trump vows \u2018very strong action\u2019 if Iran executes protesters"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>5 Minute, 42 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
\n

President Donald Trump has said the US will take \u201cvery strong action\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

Relatives of 26-year-old Erfan Soltani, who was detained last week, have told BBC Persian that he is due to be executed on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

A representative from the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights also told the BBC that they had \u201cnever witnessed a case move so quickly\u201d.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the BBC\u2019s US partner CBS News, Trump said of potential executions: \u201cIf they hang them, you\u2019re going to see some things\u2026 We will take very strong action if they do such a thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soltani\u2019s relative told BBC Persian that an Iranian court had issued a death sentence \u201cin an extremely rapid process, within just two days\u201d.<\/p>\n

They were \u201cdeeply concerned that he could be executed without any prior notice\u201d, given that contact with Iran has been affected by the internet shutdown.<\/p>\n

Soltani\u2019s detention demonstrated that the Iranian government was trying \u201cto control the population, to not allow any more protests to happen\u201d, Hengaw representative Awyar Shekhi told the BBC\u2019s Radio 4 Today programme on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Soltani\u2019s sister \u2013 who is a lawyer \u2013 tried to intervene into his case but was told by authorities there was nothing to pursue, Shekhi added.<\/p>\n

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\u2019t been allowed any contact with his family since his arrest.<\/p>\n

\"Trump<\/figure>\n

An Iranian official told Reuters that 2,000 people had been killed, but that \u201cterrorists\u201d were to blame.<\/p>\n

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 \u201caccurate numbers\u201d on the death toll from the protests.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe killing looks like it\u2019s significant, but we don\u2019t know yet for certain,\u201d Trump told reporters while returning to the White House.<\/p>\n

Once he has the numbers, he said, \u201cwe\u2019ll act accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that Iranian authorities would \u201cpay a big price\u201d for the killings, and urged people to \u201ckeep protesting\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY. MIGA!!!,\u201d he added, using the acronym for a US-based Iranian opposition slogan, \u201cMake Iran Great Again\u201d.<\/p>\n

Trump has been weighing military and other options in response to the crackdown, having already announced 25% tariffs on any country trading with Iran.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s government has responded by accusing the US of seeking to \u201cmanufacture a pretext for military intervention\u201d, warning that \u201cthis playbook has failed before\u201d.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Demonstrations escalated significantly last Thursday and were met with deadly force by authorities, masked by a near total shutdown of the internet and communication services.<\/p>\n

More than 18,434 protesters have been arrested during the unrest, according to HRANA.<\/p>\n

It is difficult to gauge the true scale of bloodshed because, like other international news organisations, the BBC is not able to report from inside the country.<\/p>\n

However, videos posted online on Sunday showed people searching for the bodies of their loved ones at the Kahrizak Forensic Centre in Tehran. The BBC counted at least 180 shrouded bodies and body bags in the footage.<\/p>\n

Around 50 bodies were visible in another video from the facility shared on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy friend went there [Kahrizak] to look for his brother, and he forgot his own sorrow,\u201d an activist told BBC Persian on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey piled up bodies from every neighbourhood, like Saadatabad, Naziabad, Sattarkhan. So you go to your address pile and search there. You don\u2019t know a fraction of the level of violence that\u2019s been used.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hospitals in the capital have also reportedly been overwhelmed by the number of casualties.<\/p>\n

Prof Shahram Kordasti, an Iranian oncologist based in London, told the BBC\u2019s Newsday programme on Tuesday that the last message he had received from a colleague in Tehran said: \u201cIn most hospitals, it\u2019s like a warzone. We are short of supplies, short of blood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other doctors at \u201ctwo to three hospitals\u201d had also said they had treated hundreds of injured or dead people, he added.<\/p>\n

An Iranian living in Rasht, near the Caspian Sea coast, described the city as unrecognisable. \u201cEverywhere is burnt with fire,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

The UN human rights chief Volker T\u00fcrk urged Iranian authorities to halt all forms of violence and repression against peaceful protesters immediately, his office said.<\/p>\n

He added that the labelling of protesters as \u201cterrorists\u201d to justify violence was unacceptable and that it was \u201cextremely worrying\u201d to see statements from Iranian officials indicating the possibility of the death penalty being used against protesters through expedited trials.<\/p>\n

\"Trump<\/figure>\n

Iran\u2019s Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said on Monday that those involved in the unrest would be \u201cdealt with seriously and severely\u201d. And prosecutors have said some will be charged with \u201cenmity against God\u201d, a national security offence that carries the death penalty.<\/p>\n

T\u00fcrk also demanded that Iranian authorities restore full access to the internet and other communication services.<\/p>\n

Some international calls from Iran went through on Tuesday, but the internet shutdown has now passed 132 hours, according to monitor NetBlocks.<\/p>\n

One person living near Tehran with access via the Starlink satellite service told BBC Persian that there were \u201ccheckpoints in every block\u201d, where cars and the phones of their occupants were being inspected by security forces.<\/p>\n

New videos of protests in recent days have also emerged, with BBC Persian verifying those filmed in the central city of Arak and the western cities of Tabriz, Urmia and Khorramabad.<\/p>\n

In the footage from Khorramabad,\u00a0gunfire can be heard during clashes between security forces and protesters, some of whom are throwing stones.<\/p>\n

The protesters chant slogans \u201cDeath to the dictator\u201d \u2013 a reference to Ayatollah Khamenei \u2013 and \u201cReza Shah, may your soul rest in peace\u201d \u2013 referring to the late monarch Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was overthrown in the 1979 revolution and whose son Reza lives in exile.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n \n
\n \n \"Happy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Happy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sad\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sad <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Excited\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Excited <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sleepy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sleepy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Angry\"\n <\/a>\n
Angry<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Surprise\"\n <\/a>\n
Surprise<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\"TrumpPresident 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.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":111064,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[993,1910,2359,117,10,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-donald-trump","category-international","category-iran","category-news","category-politics","category-popular"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=111063"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111063\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/111064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=111063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=111063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=111063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}