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THE EXECUTION OF an Iranian man arrested during a wave of protests, which NGOs and Washington had warned risked taking place today, has not been implemented and has been postponed, a rights group said, while warning his life was still in danger.
The execution of Erfan Soltani, 26, had been scheduled for Wednesday but was postponed, said the Norway-based Hengaw rights group, citing relatives, while adding there were “serious and ongoing concerns” regarding his right to life.
US President Donald Trump, who had warned of military action against Tehran over its crackdown on the protests, earlier said he had been told on “good authority” that “there’s no plan for executions”, without providing further details.
Speaking at the White House, Trump said he had received assurances from “very important sources on the other side” that the killings had stopped and that planned executions would not go ahead.
The news comes as Amnesty International accused Iranian authorities of committing mass unlawful killings “on an unprecedented scale,” citing verified videos and eyewitness accounts.
“Security forces positioned on the streets and rooftops, including of residential buildings, mosques and police stations, have repeatedly fired rifles and shotguns loaded with metal pellets, targeting unarmed protesters frequently in their heads and torsos,” the UK-based group said in a statement.
It denounced a “coordinated nationwide escalation” in the security forces’ use of lethal force against protesters since 8 January when mass protests erupted and an internet shutdown came into force.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War said authorities were using “an unprecedented level of brutality to suppress protests,” noting reports of protest activity had sharply declined.
Iran’s judiciary chief vowed fast-track trials for those arrested, stoking fears authorities will use capital punishment as a tool of repression.
In Tehran, authorities held a funeral for more than 100 security personnel and other “martyrs” killed in the unrest, which officials have branded “acts of terror.”
Two diplomatic sources told AFP some personnel have been asked to leave the Al Udeid US military base in Qatar, with the Gulf state citing “regional tensions” as the reason.
Iran targeted the base in June in retaliation for US strikes on its nuclear facilities. Ali Shamkhani, a senior advisor to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned Trump the strike showed “Iran’s will and capability to respond to any attack.”
The British government said meanwhile that its embassy in Tehran had been “temporarily closed,” while the US embassy in Saudi Arabia urged staff to exercise caution and avoid military installations.
Trump told CBS News on Tuesday the United States would “take very strong action” if Iran began hanging protesters.
G7 nations said Wednesday they were “deeply alarmed at the high level of reported deaths and injuries” and warned of further sanctions if the crackdown continued.
Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, visiting a prison holding protest detainees, said on state TV that “if a person burned someone, beheaded someone and set them on fire then we must do our work quickly.”
He called for public trials, according to Iranian news agencies, and said he had spent five hours reviewing cases in Tehran.
Monitor NetBlocks said Iran’s internet blackout had lasted 144 hours. Despite the shutdown, new videos, with locations verified by AFP, showed bodies lined up in the Kahrizak morgue south of Tehran, wrapped in black bags as distraught relatives searched for loved ones.
A senior Iranian official told journalists there had been no new “riots” since Monday, distinguishing them from earlier cost-of-living protests. “Every society can expect protests, but we will not tolerate violence,” he said.
Prosecutors have said some detainees will face capital charges of “waging war against God.” State media reported hundreds of arrests and the detention of a foreign national for espionage, without giving details.
The US State Department said on its Persian-language X account that 26-year-old protester Erfan Soltani had been sentenced to execution Wednesday.
Iran Human Rights, also based in Norway, said security forces had killed at least 3,428 protesters and arrested more than 10,000.
At Wednesday’s funeral in Tehran, thousands waved Islamic republic flags and prayed for the dead outside Tehran University, state TV images showed. “Death to America!” read banners, while others carried photos of Khamenei.
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