Trump Warns Iran: Execute People and We'll Take Action

President Trump is warning Tehran of consequences as fears mount of fast-tracked executions tied to Iran's protest crackdown. In an interview with CBS News on Tuesday, Trump said the US would take "very strong action" if Iran begins hanging detained demonstrators. His comments come amid the case of 26-year-old Erfan Soltani, who relatives told BBC Persian was sentenced to death just two days after his arrest last week and was slated to be executed on Wednesday; his current status is unknown. When asked by CBS what action he was considering, Trump said:

• "Well—let's define it in Venezuela. Let's define it with [ISIS leader] al-Baghdadi. He was wiped out. Let's define it with [Iranian military commander] Soleimani. And let's define it in Iran, where—wiped out their Iran nuclear threat in a period of about 15 minutes once the B-2s got there. And that was a complete obliteration as it turns out, which is what I said initially. Then some questioned it, and they said, 'You know, Trump was right.' So we've been right about everything. We don't want to see what's happening in Iran happen. 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 hanging—we'll see how that works out for them. It's not gonna work out good."

As for Soltani's case, a representative of the Kurdish-focused Hengaw Organization for Human Rights said they had "never witnessed a case move so quickly," and described Soltani's detention as part of an effort to intimidate the public and stifle further protests. His sister, a lawyer, has reportedly tried to assist but was told "there's no case to review." Rights groups say the broader toll is already staggering. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says it has confirmed at least 2,403 protesters killed.

Trump, who has pledged to obtain "accurate numbers" on the death toll, wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday that Iranian authorities would "pay a big price" and urged people to "keep protesting." He said he has suspended all meetings with Iranian officials "until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS," adding "HELP IS ON ITS WAY" and using the opposition slogan "Make Iran Great Again."