Trump says Iran has called off execution of protesters amid fears for the fate of Erfan Soltani

CNN

By Isobel Yeung, Adam Cancryn, Aida Karimi, Catherine Nicholls, Augusta Anthony, CNN

(CNN) — US President Donald Trump indicated Wednesday that Iran has backed away from executing a detained Iranian protester for joining anti-government demonstrations after his case drew the attention of human rights activists and the US State Department.

“We were told that the killing in Iran is stopping, and there’s no plan for executions,” Trump said from the Oval Office. “The killing has stopped. The executions have stopped.”

In recent days, Iran had raised the prospect of executing Iranian protester Erfan Soltani, 26, who was detained less than a week ago, according to a family member and the State Department.

“There’s no plan for executions or an execution,” Trump told reporters. “I’ve been told that on good authority. We’ll find out about it. I’m sure if it happens, I’ll be very upset.” Trump did not immediately elaborate on the source of his information.

In a Tuesday post on X, the State Department said Iranian authorities planned to execute Soltani, who was arrested at his home last week in connection with protests in Fardis, a city about 25 miles west of Tehran.

“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 issued for January 14, is among them,” the State Department said.

Speaking to CNN on Tuesday, Somayeh, a relative of Soltani who declined to be identified by her full name due to security concerns, said he is an “incredibly kind and warm-hearted young man” who has “always fought for the freedom of Iran.”

Soltani was not allowed a lawyer or an appeal after being sentenced to death, according to Somayeh, who said that his trial was rushed.

Rushed death sentences and sham trials are a common occurrence in Iran, according to regional experts.

“This time, the Islamic Republic regime didn’t even bother with its usual 10-minute sham trial,” the US State Department said in a post on X.

CNN is reaching out to Iranian authorities for comment.

Iranian Attorney General Mohammad Movahedi Azad said over the weekend that legal proceedings against protesters, whom he called “terrorists,” will be carried out “without leniency, mercy or appeasement,” according to the semi-official news agency Tasnim.

On Wednesday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its intelligence network has received nearly 400,000 public reports, leading in some cases to arrests.

Denied access to case

Hengaw, a Norway-based human rights organization, reported that Soltani was arrested at his home last Thursday. Four days after his arrest, his family was told that his execution had been scheduled, it said.

Soltani’s family has been denied access to any information regarding his case, including the charges against him, Hengaw reported Monday. His sister, a licensed lawyer, has tried to pursue the case, “but authorities have so far prevented her from accessing the case file,” the organization said.

His family has been granted only “a brief opportunity for a final visit” before his execution, according to Hengaw.

The feared execution figured in growing tensions between the US and Iran, with Trump considering taking military action against the regime.

On Tuesday, Trump warned Iran against executing protesters and said the US would take “strong action” in response.

“If they do such a thing, we will take very strong action,” the president told CBS News in an interview, without expanding on what that action would be. Trump told CBS that he had not heard reports about hangings, but he warned that such a development could prompt a forceful US response.

“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,” Trump said. “It’s not going to work out good.”

Somayeh, the family member, called on Trump for help.

“Our demand now is that Trump truly stand behind the words he said, because the Iranian people came to the streets based on those statements,” she told CNN on Tuesday. “An unarmed population trusted these words and is now under gunfire. I beg you, please do not let Erfan be executed. Please.”

CNN’s Kevin Liptak and Helen Regan contributed to this report.

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