Politics Iran: Executions have not stopped - war concerns grow
Iran's judiciary has denied statements by US President Donald Trump that the execution of 800 protesters has been halted.
23.01.2026, 11:13
23.01.2026, 14:13
SDA
"This claim is completely false. There is no such number, nor has the judiciary made such a decision," state radio quoted Attorney General Mohammed Mowahedi-Asad as saying.
US President Donald Trump had said a week ago that a military attack on the leadership of the Islamic Republic had failed to materialize because the authorities had called off the execution of 800 people. During the wave of protests against the authoritarian government, he repeatedly assured the demonstrators of his support and drew red lines for the leadership in Tehran - so far without consequences.
Trump: "Huge fleet" on its way to Iran
Meanwhile, fears of war are on the rise again: Trump announced on Thursday that a "huge fleet" was on its way to the waters near Iran. US media had previously reported on the deployment of the aircraft carrier "USS Abraham Lincoln" and accompanying ships.
The commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Mohammed Pakpur, then warned of an attack: the armed forces were ready "with their finger on the trigger".
The population in Iran has been largely cut off from the internet for more than two weeks. On Thursday and Friday, some users were able to send messages via Messenger again for the first time. Data from the IT company Cloudflare continued to show only minimal data traffic on Iran's internet on Friday. Residents of the capital Tehran reported by telephone that there was widespread concern about new attacks - whether by Israel or the USA.
Iranian journalists criticize internet block
Iranian media also criticized the blockade. "Working as a journalist without the Internet is like swimming with your hands tied," said Mehdi Rahmanian, editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper "Shargh". The web portal "Digiato" reacted with scorn: "Under these circumstances, we should immediately reintroduce the carrier pigeon system."
Activists verify at least 5,000 deaths during protests
The most recent protests in Iran were initially triggered by an economic crisis at the end of December. However, the demonstrations quickly developed into political uprisings against the Islamic Republic's authoritarian system of rule. The security apparatus brutally cracked down on the protests and put them down. The demonstrations have since fallen completely silent.
According to the US-based human rights network HRANA, it has now verified 5,002 deaths - including 4,714 demonstrators, 207 state forces and 39 bystanders as well as 42 minors. A further 9,787 deaths are being investigated. Around 26,800 people have also been arrested, according to the HRANA report.
State: "Terrorists" responsible for thousands of deaths
According to the official state account, 3,117 people died in the uprisings. The government blames arch-enemies Israel and the USA for the many deaths, claiming that they carried out "numerous terrorist acts" in large parts of the country on the nights of January 8 and 9.
On the other hand, there are numerous videos that have been leaked despite the internet ban. They allegedly show security forces shooting at apparently unarmed demonstrators. Never before in the history of the Islamic Republic have so many demonstrators been killed during protests.
Amnesty: Armed patrols in cities
Amnesty International sharply criticized the state repression and spoke of an "unprecedented scale". Heavily armed units of the security forces were deployed throughout the country and had set up a dense network of checkpoints and armed patrols in cities and on country roads, according to a report.
"By continuing to block the internet, the authorities are deliberately isolating over 90 million people from the rest of the world to cover up their crimes and evade accountability," said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty's deputy regional director for the Middle East, according to a statement.
