United States President Donald Trump has threatened to "take very strong action" if Iranian authorities begin executing anti-government protesters this week, as the death toll in the crisis reportedly rose to more than 2.500, the British newspaper The Guardian reported today.
"If they do something like that, we will take very strong action," Trump told CBS News in an interview broadcast on Tuesday night, just hours before the US president was due to be briefed on the casualty figures in Iran.
There are fears that one of the thousands of protesters arrested last week, Erfan Soltani, faces imminent execution, having been brought to trial, convicted and sentenced since his arrest on Thursday last week.
The 26-year-old was arrested in Karaj, a city just on the northwestern outskirts of the capital Tehran, at the height of the protests, before a complete internet shutdown.
Amnesty International highlighted his case, warning of concerns that Iranian authorities could "once again resort to summary trials and arbitrary executions to crush and deter dissent."
Last year, Iran hanged at least 1.500 people, according to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights organization.
Trump told CBS that he was aware that a "fairly significant number" of people had been killed during more than two weeks of demonstrations.
The death toll rose to at least 2.571 in the early hours of Wednesday, according to a report by the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA). The toll, which includes 12 children, far exceeds the number of people killed in any other wave of protests or unrest in Iran in recent decades and is reminiscent of the chaos surrounding the 1979 Islamic Revolution. More than 18.100 people have been detained, the group said, according to the Guardian.
Iranian state television gave the first official acknowledgement of the deaths, quoting an official who said the country had "many martyrs".
On Tuesday evening, the State Department warned American citizens to leave Iran immediately, and several Western countries issued similar travel warnings.
In an interview with CBS, Trump was asked about the hangings reportedly expected to begin in Iran today and what he meant by "we will take very strong action." The US president then recalled recent US strikes on Venezuela and the killing of then-Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2019, before issuing a warning to the regime.
"We don't want what's happening in Iran to continue... when they start killing thousands of people. And now you're talking to me about hanging. We'll see how they do it. It's not going to turn out well for them," he said.
Earlier, Trump posted a message of support for the protesters on the social network Truth Social.
"Iranian patriots, CONTINUE PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!. Save the names of the murderers and abusers. They will pay a high price. I have canceled all meetings with Iranian officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON THE WAY," he wrote.
In response, Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations said that Washington's "playbook" would "fail again."
"American fantasies and policies toward Iran are based on regime change, with sanctions, threats, incitement, and chaos serving as a modus operandi to produce a pretext for military intervention," the statement posted on the X network said.
A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman characterized US pressure on Iran by claiming that "external forces hostile to Iran are trying to exploit growing public tensions to destabilize and destroy the Iranian state."
Iranian authorities, on the other hand, have insisted that they have regained control of the country after consecutive nights of mass protests across the country, which have been ongoing since Thursday.
For the first time in days, Iranians were able to make phone calls abroad on Tuesday, after authorities cut off communications during a crackdown on protests.
Security forces have reportedly been searching for Starlink satellite internet terminals, while residents of northern Tehran have reported that authorities are searching apartment buildings housing satellite dishes.
Although satellite television antennas are illegal, many residents of the capital have them in their homes, and officials have largely given up on enforcing the law in recent years. Activists said Wednesday that Starlink is offering free service in Iran.
Meanwhile, Iranian state media has broadcast at least 97 confessions from protesters since December 28, according to HRANA. The organization says testimonies collected from released detainees show that the confessions were coerced, often under torture. It warns that such coerced confessions can have severe consequences, including state executions.
Witnesses who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals said police were deployed at major intersections, while plainclothes security officers were visible in public places.
Riot police officers wore helmets and protective vests and were armed with batons, shields, shotguns and tear gas canisters, witnesses said.
DON'T MISS IT
Bonus video:
