Trump Vows ‘Strong Action’ Over Potential Iran Executions of Protesters
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, have told BBC Persian that he is due to be executed on Wednesday.
A representative from the Hengaw Association for Human Rights also told the BBC that they had ”never witnessed a case move so quickly”.
Speaking to the BBC’s US partner CBS News, 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 BBC Persian that an Iranian court had issued a death sentence “in an extremely rapid process,within just two days”.
Awyar Shekhi, a representative of Hengaw, said that the case demonstrated that the Iranian government is “using every tactic they know to suppress people adn spread fear”.
An Iranian official told Reuters 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 US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said that it had so far confirmed the killing of 2,403 protesters, and also 12 children, despite an internet blackout. nearly 150 people affiliated with the government have also been killed, the group said.
“The killing looks like it’s 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.”
Footage circulating online appears to show bodies at Kahrizak detention center near Tehran, amid a continuing crackdown on protests in Iran. Videos show numerous black body bags and, in one instance, approximately 50 visible bodies.
One activist told BBC Persian that the facility is being used to collect bodies from various neighborhoods, including Saadatabad, Naziabad, and Sattarkhan. Individuals are reportedly searching through piles of bodies, organized by address, to find loved ones.
Hospitals in Tehran are reportedly overwhelmed with casualties.Iranian oncologist Shahram Kordasti,based in London,stated a colleague in Tehran described hospitals as “like a warzone,” facing shortages of supplies and blood.
Doctors at multiple hospitals have reported treating hundreds of injured and deceased individuals. A resident of Rasht, near the Caspian Sea, described the city as extensively damaged by fire.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has called on Iranian authorities to immediatly cease violence and repression against peaceful protesters. He condemned the labeling of protesters as ”terrorists” and expressed concern over potential expedited trials leading to the death penalty.