Donald Trump has urged protesters in Iran to rise up as it emerges more than 2,000 people have been killed so far.
With protesters facing execution in the coming days, some Iranians have been calling for the US President to intervene brandishing ‘Trump Help’ signs.
That figure dwarfs the death toll from any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Trump addressed them in a speech in Detroit, saying: ‘To all Iranian patriots, keep protesting, take over your institutions, if possible, and save the name of the killers and the abusers that are abusing you.
‘I say save their names because they’ll pay a very big price.’
Trump has appeared to pledge his support, saying cryptically on Truth Social: ‘Help is on it’s way’.
When asked what he meant by that by a reporter, he replied: ‘You’re going to find out soon.’
Before adding, ‘It’s a good idea for Americans to leave Iran.’
The demonstrations began a little over two weeks ago in anger over Iran’s ailing economy and soon targeted the theocracy, particularly 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The highest number of fatalities were recorded from 8 January onwards, with reports indicating that many of those killed were under 30 years old.
Iranians made phone calls abroad for the first time in days after authorities severed communications during a crackdown on demonstrators.
On 10 January, Iran’s Prosecutor General declared all protesters to be mohareb (enemies of God), a charge that carries the death penalty, effectively issuing blanket death sentences.
Iranian state television offered the first official acknowledgment of the high death toll, saying the country had ‘a lot of martyrs.’
The anchor read a statement that said ‘armed and terrorist groups’ led the country ‘to present a lot of martyrs to God.’
There are also unverified accounts of extrajudicial executions of some injured protesters.
Iran’s Foreign Minister confirmed that some wounded people had been ‘finished off’ with a final shot, but attributed this to ‘enemy-linked terrorist elements,’ stating: ‘Even the wounded were killed by them.
‘In one case, people wanted to take eleven wounded individuals to hospital. A group came and said, “Give them to us, we will take them ourselves”, and later all eleven were found elsewhere, having been shot dead.’
An informed source told Iran Human Rights that on 8 January alone, at least 80 protesters were killed in several cities.
Fifty bodies were seen in hospitals across the city of Sari, while 15 bodies were reported in each of the cities of Ghaemshahr and Zirab.
The source explained: ‘These were only the people brought to hospitals by the public. Some bodies were collected from the streets and never taken to hospitals.
‘Some victims had been struck by both pellet weapons and live ammunition. The cities are under near-martial law, and many shopkeepers have been ordered to close their shops.’
A young Iranian man who took part in anti-government protests in his country will be executed tomorrow for ‘waging a war against God’.
Erfan Soltani, 26, will be hanged for his participation in the protests.
His execution is expected to be the first linked to the current protests – and will be carried out tomorrow, after he was denied a lawyer and a fair trial.
After desperate pleas, his family were allowed just one ten-minute meeting with Erfan – one that authorities made clear was meant to be their ‘final farewell’ before he is hanged, according to IranWire.
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