Iran vows fast trials over protests after Trump threat

• Iran orders fast-track public trials for protest detainees, including possible death sentences, as authorities claim control despite widespread unrest.
• International pressure intensifies, with Trump threatening “very strong action,” Europe summoning Iranian envoys, and rights groups warning the death toll may be in the thousands.
• Crackdown continues amid blackout, as internet shutdowns obscure the scale of violence, arrests exceed 10,600, and the first reported protester faces execution.

Iran on Wednesday vowed to fast-track trials for people arrested during a massive wave of anti-government protests, defying mounting international pressure after US President Donald Trump warned of “very strong action” if reported hangings go ahead.

The demonstrations represent one of the most serious challenges to Iran’s clerical leadership in years. A rights group has warned that the crackdown may have killed thousands, fuelling global outrage.

Iranian authorities insist they have regained control after successive nights of unrest, repeatedly accusing protesters of carrying out “acts of terror” similar to those committed by the Islamic State group.

Judiciary Signals Accelerated Prosecutions

Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, speaking during a visit to a Tehran prison holding protest detainees, said trials would be conducted swiftly.

“If a person burned someone, beheaded someone and set them on fire, then we must do our work quickly,” he said in comments broadcast by state television.

Iranian news agencies reported that Ejei called for public trials and spent five hours reviewing cases at the prison.

Prosecutors have said some detainees could face capital charges of “waging war against God,” a crime punishable by death under Iranian law.

Trump Issues Warning Over Executions

Trump warned on Tuesday that the United States would respond if Iran began executing protesters.

“We will take very strong action if they do such a thing,” he told CBS News, adding: “When they start killing thousands of people, and now you’re telling me about hanging. We’ll see how that’s going to work out for them.”

Tehran dismissed the remarks as a pretext for foreign intervention. Iran’s UN mission accused Washington of pursuing regime change, saying US policy relied on “sanctions, threats, engineered unrest, and chaos” to justify military action.

Internet Blackout Masks Crackdown

Rights groups accuse Iranian security forces of fatally shooting protesters and concealing the scale of the crackdown through a nationwide internet blackout imposed on January 8.

“Metrics show #Iran remains offline as the country wakes to another day of digital darkness,” internet monitor Netblocks said on Wednesday, noting the blackout had lasted 132 hours.

Despite the shutdown, some information has emerged. Videos verified by AFP showed bodies lined up at the Kahrizak morgue south of Tehran, wrapped in black bags as distraught relatives searched for missing loved ones.

First Death Sentence Reported

The US State Department said on its Farsi-language X account that a 26-year-old protester, Erfan Soltani, had been sentenced to death on Wednesday.

“Erfan is the first protester to be sentenced to death, but he won’t be the last,” the department said, adding that more than 10,600 people had been arrested nationwide.

Amnesty International called on Iran to immediately halt all executions, including Soltani’s.

Trump urged Iranians to “KEEP PROTESTING” in a post on Truth Social, claiming he had cancelled meetings with Iranian officials until the “senseless killing of protesters STOPS” and adding: “HELP IS ON ITS WAY.” He did not specify what meetings or assistance he was referring to.

Europe Signals Sanctions

European governments have also condemned Iran’s actions. France, Germany and the United Kingdom were among the countries that summoned Iranian ambassadors, as did the European Union.

“The rising number of casualties in Iran is horrifying,” said EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, pledging further sanctions.

Norway-based group Iran Human Rights said it had confirmed 734 deaths, including nine minors, but warned the true toll was likely far higher.

“The real number of those killed is likely in the thousands,” said the group’s director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam.

Government Rallies and Counter-Narrative

Iranian state media says dozens of security personnel have been killed, with funerals turning into large pro-government rallies. Authorities announced a mass funeral in Tehran on Wednesday for what they called the “martyrs” of recent days.

Amir, an Iraqi computer scientist who left Tehran on Monday, described heavy security deployments during the unrest.

“On Thursday night, my friends and I saw protesters in Tehran’s Sarsabz neighbourhood amid a heavy military presence. The police were firing rubber bullets,” he told AFP in Baghdad.

Opposition Calls and Leadership Response

Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran’s ousted shah, called on the military to stop suppressing demonstrations.

“You are the national military of Iran, not the military of the Islamic Republic,” he said.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has sought to project strength, praising nationwide pro-government rallies as proof the protest movement had been defeated and calling them a “warning” to the United States.

In power since 1989, the 86-year-old leader recently faced another major challenge during a 12-day war with Israel in June, which forced him into hiding.

Analysts Urge Caution

Despite the scale of the unrest, analysts warn against predicting the immediate collapse of Iran’s theocratic system.

Nicole Grajewski of the Sciences Po Centre for International Studies said the protests posed a “serious challenge” but noted the leadership retained powerful tools of repression, including the Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“It’s unclear whether this will unseat the leadership, given the sheer depth and resilience of Iran’s repressive apparatus,” she told AFP.