Erfan Soltani reportedly faces imminent execution
After being arrested on Thursday, Erfan Soltani was tried, convicted and reportedly scheduled to be executed in Iran on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old was arrested in Karaj, a city on the northwest outskirts of Tehran, at the peak of protests before the internet blackout. Soltani is one of thousands of protesters arrested last week.
Amnesty International took up his case and warned of concerns that Iranian authorities could “again resort to speedy trials and arbitrary executions to crush and deter dissent.”
According to information gathered by Amnesty International, the organization said sources learned on January 11 that authorities had informed Soltani’s family of the death sentence. The group said Soltani lost contact with her loved ones on January 8 amid mass protests and the regime’s internet shutdown.
Observers say Iran is the country with the most executions in the world after China. At least 1,500 people were hanged last year, according to the Norway-based Iranian Human Rights Group.
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Iranian authorities claim they have regained control of the country after nights of mass protests since Thursday.
Human rights groups have accused the government of shooting demonstrators and concealing the scale of the crackdown, which has now lasted more than five days, with internet blackouts.
Some reports said international phone links were restored on Tuesday, but the quality remained unstable, with only outgoing calls and frequent interruptions.
Iranian state media said dozens of security force members were killed during the protests and their funerals turned into large pro-government rallies.
Tehran authorities announced on Wednesday that mass funerals would be held in the capital for the “martyrs” of recent days.
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Updated at 21.05 ET
Activist group says death toll among protesters will jump to at least 2,571
Activists announced early Wednesday that the death toll in the crackdown on protests in Iran was at least 2,571, including 12 children.
The figures come from the U.S.-based Human Rights Defenders News Agency and provide accurate figures regarding multiple uprisings in Iran in recent years.
Activist groups said 2,403 of the dead were protesters and 147 were government officials. Twelve children were killed, as were nine civilians who were not participating in the protests. According to the group, more than 18,100 people have been detained so far.
The internet is down in Iran, making it even more difficult to keep track of protests from abroad. The Associated Press could not independently assess tolls. The Iranian government has not disclosed the overall number of casualties.
The death toll is far lower than the death toll from other protests and riots in Iran in recent decades and is reminiscent of the unrest surrounding Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
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Updated at 20:47 ET
Erfan Soltani reportedly faces imminent execution
After being arrested on Thursday, Erfan Soltani was tried, convicted and reportedly scheduled to be executed in Iran on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old was arrested in Karaj, a city on the northwest outskirts of Tehran, at the peak of protests before the internet blackout. Soltani is one of thousands of protesters arrested last week.
Amnesty International took up his case and warned of concerns that Iranian authorities could “again resort to speedy trials and arbitrary executions to crush and deter dissent.”
According to information gathered by Amnesty International, the organization said sources learned on January 11 that authorities had informed Soltani’s family of the death sentence. The group said Soltani lost contact with his loved ones on January 8, amid mass protests and the regime’s internet shutdown.
Observers say Iran is the country with the most executions in the world after China. At least 1,500 people were hanged last year, according to the Norway-based Iranian Human Rights Group.
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President Donald Trump returned to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday night and was briefed on possible U.S. action in Iran. It’s just after 8 p.m. in Washington, D.C., and 4:30 a.m. Wednesday in Iran.
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Opening overview
Welcome to our ongoing live coverage of the Iran crisis. President Donald Trump said the United States would take “very strong action” against Iran if the Iranian government begins executing people as part of a crackdown on escalating protests in the country.
“When they start killing thousands of people, and now you’re talking to me about hangings, we’ll see how that goes for them,” Trump told CBS News.
Iranian Kurdish human rights organization Hengau reported that Erfan Soltani, 26, who was arrested in connection with protests in the city of Karaj, will be executed on Wednesday. Citing a person close to the family, Hengo reported that authorities had informed the family that the death sentence had been finalized.
The US president urged the protests to continue and later hinted once again that the US military may take military action. “Iranian patriots, keep protesting – take over our institutions!!!… Help is on the way,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, a day after a White House spokesperson said the airstrike was one of “many, many options” the president was considering.
Reports that thousands of people have been killed in the protests are becoming increasingly credible. The number of reports ranges from 2,000 to as high as 20,000, two CBS officials said, citing hospital medical records. The Iranian regime has not released official figures.
In other developments:
The US State Department said US citizens should leave Iran now and would “consider leaving Iran by land to Armenia or Turkiye if it is safe to do so.” The US virtual embassy in Iran said citizens should “plan alternative means of communication” due to “continued internet outages” and “develop plans that do not rely on U.S. government assistance.”
President Donald Trump announced that he would suspend talks with Iranian officials until the “senseless killings” stop, signaling that efforts to de-escalate tensions may collapse. President Trump is scheduled to be briefed on the number of casualties in Iran on Tuesday night. Vice President J.D. Vance, who reportedly encouraged Trump to try diplomacy first, is chairing a key National Security Council meeting on Iran.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is offering free internet to Iranians through its Starlink satellite service as the country’s internet outage stretches on for more than five days, according to Bloomberg News. According to a report by Bloomberg, the license fee has been waived so that people with receivers in Iran can access the service without paying.
According to Axios, President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff held a secret meeting with Reza Pahlavi, the exiled former crown prince of Iran, over the weekend. A senior US official told the outlet that the two had discussed the protests. In previous messages blocked by the Iranian government’s internet shutdown, he said he was ready to lead a regime transition. He also promoted referendums and nonviolent reform within the country.
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