Trump vows ‘very strong action’ if Iran executes protesters

Human rights groups say more than 2,400 anti-government demonstrators have been killed in a violent crackdown by Iranian authorities, while President Donald Trump said he would take “very strong action” against Iran if the United States executes protesters.

Relatives of 26-year-old Erfan Soltani, who was detained last week, told BBC Persian that he will be executed on Wednesday.

A representative from the Hengaw Human Rights Organization also told the BBC they had “never witnessed a case progress so quickly”.

Speaking to BBC’s US partner CBS News, Trump said the following about possible executions: “If they hang them, you will see some things… If they do something like this, we will take very harsh measures.”

Sultani’s relative told BBC Persian that the Iranian court handed down the death penalty “in an extremely rapid process, in just two days.”

Hengaw representative Awyar Shekhi said the case showed the Iranian government was “using every tactic it knows to suppress people and spread fear.”

An Iranian official told Reuters that 2,000 people were killed but that “terrorists” were to blame.

Trump had previously said he planned to attend a meeting at the White House on Tuesday night to discuss the situation in Iran and promised to get “accurate numbers” on the number of deaths in the protests.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it has confirmed that 2,403 protesters and 12 children have been killed so far despite the internet blackout. The group said about 150 people affiliated with the government were also killed.

“The killing appears to be significant, but we don’t know for sure yet,” Trump told reporters as he returned to the White House. he said.

After receiving the figures, he said, “We will act accordingly.”

Earlier Tuesday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that Iranian authorities “will pay a huge price” for the killings and urged people to “continue to protest.”

“I have canceled all meetings with Iranian officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOP. HELP IS ON THE WAY. MIGA!!!” he added.

Trump is considering military and other options in response to the pressure, having already announced 25% tariffs on any country trading with Iran.

The Iranian government responded by accusing the United States of trying to “make excuses for military intervention” and warned that “this playbook has failed before.”

The protests, which reportedly spread to 180 cities and towns in all 31 provinces, were sparked by anger over the depreciation of the Iranian currency and rising costs of living.

These quickly expanded into demands for political change and became one of the most serious challenges to the religious order since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

The demonstrations escalated significantly last Thursday and were met with lethal force by authorities, masked by a near-total shutdown of internet and communications services.

According to HRANA, more than 18,434 protesters were arrested during the events.

It is difficult to gauge the true extent of the bloodshed because the BBC, like other international news organisations, cannot report from within the country.

But videos posted online on Sunday showed people searching for the bodies of their loved ones at Tehran’s Kahrizak Forensic Center. The BBC counted at least 180 shrouded corpses and body bags in the footage.

Another video from the facility shared on Monday showed approximately 50 bodies.

“My friend went there [Kahrizak] “He went to look for his brother and forgot his own sadness,” one activist told BBC Persian on Monday.

“They piled up bodies from every neighbourhood, Saadatabad, Naziabad, Sattarkhan. So go to your pile of addresses and search there. You don’t even know an iota of the level of violence used.”

It is reported that hospitals in the capital are overflowing due to the number of deaths.

Prof Shahram Kordasti, an Iranian oncologist based in London, told the BBC’s Newsday program on Tuesday that the last message he received from a colleague in Tehran was: “In most hospitals it is like a war zone. We have limited supplies and blood.”

He added that other doctors at “two or three hospitals” also said they had treated hundreds of injured or dead people.

An Iranian living in Rasht on the Caspian Sea described the city as unrecognizable. They said, “Everywhere was burned with fire.”

The office of U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk said he called on Iranian authorities to immediately stop all violence and repression against peaceful protesters.

He added that labeling protesters as “terrorists” to justify violence was unacceptable and that it was “extremely worrying” to see statements from Iranian officials hinting at the possibility of the death penalty being used against protesters through expedited trials.

Iran’s Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said on Monday that those involved in the unrest “will be dealt with seriously and harshly.” Some will be charged with “enmity against God,” a national security crime that carries the death penalty, prosecutors said.

Turk also demanded that Iranian authorities restore full access to the internet and other communications services.

Some international calls from Iran occurred on Tuesday, but the internet outage has now exceeded 120 hours, according to monitor NetBlocks.

A person who lives near Tehran and has access via the Starlink satellite service told BBC Persian that there are “checkpoints in every block” where cars and occupants’ phones are monitored by security forces.

New videos of recent protests have also emerged; BBC Persian confirmed the footage, which was shot in the central city of Arak and the western cities of Tabriz, Urmia and Khorramabad.

In the images from Khorramabad, Gunshots can be heard during clashes between security forces and protesters, some of whom were throwing stones.

Protesters chant “Death to the dictator,” referring to Ayatollah Khamenei, and “Reza Shah, may your soul rest in peace,” referring to the late ruler Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was overthrown in the 1979 revolution and whose son, Reza, lives in exile.