Trump says US will respond strongly if Iran executes protesters. Statements about promised American aid to Iranians in the street
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he is preparing for a meeting on the situation in Iran, stating that he expects to receive updated figures on the number of deaths, in the context of the regime's crackdown on protesters, reports CNN. Separately, in an interview with CBS News, he warned Iran against executing protesters, saying the United States would take “firm action” if the regime hangs Iranian detainees.
“I'm going back to the White House now, we're going to look at the whole situation that's going on in Iran. Very serious stuff,” Trump said on the runway at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
Senior national security officials were seen arriving at the White House on Tuesday afternoon as the meeting to discuss Trump's options began.
Among the officials were Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, and Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.
Vice President JD Vance was also expected to attend the meeting.
“Iran is on my mind when I see the kind of deaths that are happening there. We believe that, we're going to get some accurate numbers. I'll have them in about 20 minutes. We're going to get accurate numbers on what's going on in terms of killings.” said the US president.
He stated that the US will react “accordingly” to the updated balance of victims that it will receive.
Trump said he could not say what his response would be.
“I can't tell you that. I know exactly which it would be,” he countered.
Trump warned Iran not to execute protesters
The United States will take “firm action” if the regime hangs detained protesters.
“If they do such a thing, we will take very strong measures,” the president said in an interview with CBS News, without elaborating on what form the US reaction might take.
In a post on Tuesday, the US State Department said Iranian authorities plan to execute detained Iranian protester Erfan Soltani on Wednesday, writing that “more than 10,600 Iranians have been arrested by the Islamic Republic regime simply for demanding their basic rights. Erfan Soltani, 26, whose death sentence was set for 14 January, is among them”.
Trump told CBS that he had no knowledge of the hangings, but warned that they could provoke a strong response from the US.
“We don't want to see what's happening in Iran. And you know, if they want to have protests, that's one thing. When they start killing thousands of people, and now you're telling me about hangings, we'll see how that works for them,” Trump said. “It won't work well.”
Asked what aid was in store for the Iranian people, Trump suggested there might be economic assistance.
“There's a lot of aid on the way, in various forms, including economic aid from us, and it's not going to help Iran very much,” he said.
“Iranian patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE CONTROL OF THE INSTITUTIONS!!!” he wrote. “Keep the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a heavy price. I have canceled all meetings with Iranian officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON THE WAY!,” Trump tweeted on Tuesday.
The execution of a 26-year-old man is said to be imminent
There are fears that one of the thousands of protesters arrested last week, Erfan Soltani, faces imminent execution after being tried and convicted since his arrest last Thursday.
The 26-year-old was arrested in Karaj, a town on the northwestern outskirts of Tehran, at the height of the protests before the internet was cut.
Amnesty International highlighted his case, warning of concerns that Iranian authorities could “again resort to summary trials and arbitrary executions to stifle and deter dissent”. Last year, Iran hanged at least 1,500 people, the Norway-based Iranian Human Rights Group said.
Iran's UN mission vowed that Washington's “playbook” would “fail again.”
“US fantasies and policy towards Iran are rooted in regime change, sanctions, threats, manipulated unrest and chaos serving as modus operandi to manufacture a pretext for military intervention,” the statement published on X said.
A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman commented on the US pressure on Iran saying that “external forces hostile to Iran are trying to use the growing public tension to destabilize and destroy the Iranian state.”
Iranian authorities insisted they had regained control of the country after successive nights of mass protests nationwide.
For the first time in days, Iranians were able to make international calls on Tuesday after authorities cut off all communications in an effort to quell protests.
At least 2,571 people have been killed in the protests in Iran, according to a new tally
The death toll from protests in Iran has reached 2,571, the US-based human rights group HRANA said on Wednesday, providing updated figures.
The HRANA group had previously stated that it verified the deaths of 2,403 protesters, 147 people affiliated with the government, 12 people under the age of 18 and nine civilians who were not participating in the protests.
An Iranian official said on Tuesday that about 2,000 people had been killed, the first time authorities had given an overall death toll after more than two weeks of nationwide unrest.
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged Iranians to continue their protests, promising that help was on the way. Iranian officials have accused the US and Israel of fueling the violence in the country and blamed the death toll on “terrorist agents” who receive orders from abroad to instigate the uprising.
The unrest, triggered by difficult economic conditions, represented the biggest internal challenge for Iran's leaders in at least three years and occurred at a time of increased international pressure after the Israeli and American attacks last year, according to news.ro.
