In a grim turn of events, a 26-year-old Iranian protestor faces imminent execution as part of the Islamic Republic’s harsh response to recent demonstrations. Human rights organizations report that Erfan Soltani is poised to become the first individual executed in this sweeping crackdown.

Soltani, who owned a clothing store, was apprehended at his home in Fardis, Karaj, following an anti-government protest he allegedly attended last Thursday. After being detained, he swiftly received a death sentence and is scheduled to be hanged tomorrow morning. Heartbreakingly, he will have just a 10-minute farewell meeting with his family before his execution.

The protestor’s case is not isolated, as he is among 10,700 people who have been detained since the protests erupted late last year, according to figures from the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), based in the United States.

Arina Moradi, a representative of the Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights, has been in contact with Soltani’s family. She shared with the Daily Mail that his relatives are engulfed in shock and despair. “Their son was never involved in politics,” Moradi explained, “He was simply one of the many young Iranians voicing their discontent with the current conditions in the country.”

Arina Moradi, a member of the Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights who has spoken to Soltani’s family, told the Daily Mail that his loved ones were ‘shocked’ and ‘despaired’ at the situation.

‘Their son was never a political activist, just part of the younger generation who was protesting the current situation in Iran,’ she said. 

Moradi noted that the judicial process for this case is unprecedented, in that it has been heavily fast-tracked in a way her organisation has rarely seen.

‘He was given no access to his lawyer, the charge is not clear, [and the authorities] haven’t given the family an official charge, but said the arrest was made due to his link with the protest,’ she said.

‘He was detained last Thursday, and there was no information about him for days before authorities called the family and said they had arrested their son and he will be executed on Wednesday – meaning tomorrow.’

An Iranian official admitted to Reuters that around 2,000 ​people were killed ​in ​⁠protests, ‍blaming ‘terrorists’ for ⁠the deaths ⁠of civilians and security ‍personnel.

Prior to that estimate, Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights said at least 648 people had been killed during the demonstrations, including nine under 18, but warned the death toll was probably much higher – ‘according to some estimates more than 6,000’, it said. 

Because of the Internet blackout in Iran, members of the Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights have been unable to reach Soltani’s family for more updates on his condition.

‘We were trying to call again today for more updates but we haven’t been successful,’ Moradi said.

She added that while executions usually take place in prisons, they can on certain occasions be public spectacles.

Soltani will likely be subjected to torture and abuse while detained in prison, Moradi said.

When asked whether this case will be followed by more incidents of capital punishment, Moradi was confident the regime would carry out other extrajudicial executions in the coming weeks. 

Shahin Gobadi, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), told the Daily Mail: ‘Ali Khamenei, the regime’s leader, has explicitly labelled the demonstrators as “rioters,” and the regime’s prosecutor-general has declared that rioters are “mohareb”- “enemies of God” – a charge punishable by death. 

‘The head of the judiciary has also stated that “special branches have been established to swiftly review the cases of the insurgents, and judicial officials have been instructed, if necessary, to be present on site, stay informed directly, and examine the matters thoroughly”.

‘This is an order to establish kangaroo courts aimed at killing protesters.’

While Soltani will allegedly be the first victim to be executed since protests began on December 28 last year, the Islamic Republic has been carrying out capital punishment as a means to suppress dissent for years.

According to the NCRI, more than 2,200 executions were carried out in 2025 in 91 cities, signifying an unprecedented high in Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s 36-year-rule as supreme leader. 

The National Union for Democracy in Iran described Soltani as a ‘young freedom-seeker’ whose ‘only crime is shouting for freedom for Iran’.

Iranian journalist Azadeh Shafiee posted a video of Soltani dancing in his car to music, while issuing a warning to his followers about the ‘beginning’ of ‘extensive executions in Iran’.

‘[Erfan Soltani], a 26-year-old son of Fardis Karaj, is a king and one of the young people who went to the streets to protest and oppose the Islamic Republic, and is now facing the risk of execution,’ he wrote.

‘[Erfan] is the only one who has had a chance to be informed about! Many people arrested these days [amid the] Internet outage are at risk of execution without us even knowing about them!

‘[Erfan] was arrested on Thursday night after widespread public protests and is now sentenced to death in the absence of a lawyer and in a very short interval without a fair trial and is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday.’

Hengaw claimed a source close to the Soltani family said authorities informed them about the death sentence four days after his arrest, saying it was ‘final and will be carried out on Wednesday’.

‘The family has reportedly been granted only a brief opportunity for a final visit prior to the execution,’ the organisation wrote in a statement published on its website.

‘The source added that Erfan Soltani’s sister, who is a licensed lawyer, has attempted to pursue the case through legal channels, but authorities have so far prevented her from accessing the case file.’

The arresting authority has not been officially identified.

‘Since his arrest, Erfan Soltani has been deprived of his most basic rights, including access to legal counsel, the right to defense, and other fundamental due process guarantees,’ it continued.

‘His family has also been deliberately kept uninformed about the judicial process.’

The organisation called the case a ‘clear violation of international human rights law’, citing its ‘rushed and non-transparent’ nature, as well as the fact that Soltani was denied access to a lawyer, an effective defense, and an independent and impartial trial. 

Iran Human Rights Director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, said: ‘The widespread killing of civilian protesters in recent days by the Islamic Republic is reminiscent of the regime’s crimes in the 1980s, which have been recognised as crimes against humanity. 

‘The risk of mass and extrajudicial executions of protesters is extremely serious. Under the Responsibility to Protect, the international community has a duty to protect civilian protesters against mass killings by the Islamic Republic and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. 

‘We call on people and civil society in democratic countries to remind their governments of this responsibility.’

Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad condemned the planned execution, writing on X: This is how the Islamic Republic crushes dissent: Shut down the internet. Kill protesters in the streets. Start rapid executions to terrorise society into silence.’

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Tuesday that Iran’s theocratic regime was living out its ‘last days’ as pressure grew on the government over violence against protestors. 

‘When a regime can only hold on to power through violence, then it is effectively finished,’ he told reporters in Bengaluru during a visit to India.

‘I believe that we are now witnessing the last days and weeks of this regime.’

Iran’s leaders have ‘no legitimacy’ as they were not elected by the people and the population was now ‘rising up’, Merz said, adding: ‘I hope that there is a way to end this conflict peacefully.’

He said Berlin was in contact with the United States and other European governments with the aim of ensuring ‘that there can be a peaceful transition to a democratic government in Iran’.

US President Donald Trump has been briefed on a range of covert and military options to target Iran, according to two Department of Defense officials.

The tools presented to Trump include long-range missile strikes, but Pentagon officials also presented other options, including cyber operations and psychological campaign responses, sources told CBS News.

The US president’s national security team is understood to be holding a meeting at the White House on Tuesday to discuss the approaches, but it is unclear whether Trump himself will be present. 

Witnesses have described how streets have turned into ‘warzones’, as security forces open fire on unarmed protestors with Kalashnikov-style assault rifles, and morgues fill up with body bags. 

‘It’s like a warzone, the streets are full of blood,’ an anonymous Iranian told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme.

‘They’re taking away bodies in trucks, everyone is frightened tonight. They’re carrying out a massacre here – it’s officially a massacre.’ 

One of the largest nationwide demonstrations occurred on Thursday – marking the twelfth night of protests – after rallying calls from Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s deposed shah and a figure of Iran’s opposition in exile.

On Friday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned that the ‘Islamic Republic will not back down’, and ordered his security forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to violently crackdown on dissenters. 

A young woman from Tehran said last Thursday felt like ‘the day of judgement’.

‘Even remote neighbourhoods of Tehran were packed with protesters – places you wouldn’t believe,’ she told the BBC.

‘But on Friday, security forces only killed and killed and killed. Seeing it with my own eyes made me so unwell that I completely lost morale. Friday was a bloody day.’

She added: ‘In war, both sides have weapons. Here, people only chant and get killed. It is a one-sided war.’ 

Graphic videos circulating online show dozens of bodies in a morgue on the outskirts of Iran’s capital, south of Tehran.

People with knowledge of the facility and the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency say the video shows the Kahrizak Forensic Medicine Centre.

People are seen walking by bodies in body bags laid out in a large room, attempting to identify them.

Some of the bags were seen on mortuary trollies while others were lined up on the floor.

In one video, a mother screamed while begging for her motionless child to stand up from the table.

Another video, widely shared by activists, shows people gathered around a television monitor at the morgue, looking at images of corpses’ faces.

Outside, people can be heard wailing in grief.

A mortuary worker in a cemetery in Mashhad said that prior to sunrise on Friday morning, between 180 and 200 bodies with severe head injuries arrived and were buried immediately. 

Another source in Rasht said the bodies of 70 protesters were transferred to a hospital mortuary in the city on Thursday. 

Sources told the BBC that security forces demanded ‘payment for bullets’ before releasing bodies to families. 

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran is ‘prepared for war’ but also open to negotiations with Washington.

The US president earlier said the military is looking at ‘some very strong options’ to intervene if more demonstrators were killed. 

He added that Iranian leaders had called him ‘to negotiate’ but cautioned America ‘may have to act’ before a potential meeting because of the bloodshed.

Araghchi, speaking to the Qatar-funded satellite news network Al Jazeera in an interview aired Monday night, said he continued to communicate with US envoy Steve Witkoff.

The communication ‘continued before and after the protests and are still ongoing,’ Araghchi said. 

However, ‘Washington’s proposed ideas and threats against our country are incompatible’.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that an Iranian official had contacted Trump’s special envoy Witkoff, adding that Iran’s public stance is ‘quite [different] from the messages the administration is receiving privately’. 

‘I think the president has an interest in exploring those messages,’ Leavitt said. ‘However, with that said, the president has shown he’s unafraid to use military options if and when he deems necessary, and nobody knows that better than Iran.’

On Monday, 86-year-old dictator Ali Khamenei praised pro-government rallies in Tehran and said they came as a warning to US politicians.

Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, which appeared to number in the tens of thousands, who shouted ‘Death to America!’ and ‘Death to Israel!’

‘The great Iranian nation has asserted its resolve and identity in the face of its enemies,’ he said.

‘This was a warning to American politicians to end their deceit and not rely on treacherous mercenaries.’

Many received text messages inviting people inside the country to attend the pro-government demonstrations.

Iranians across the capital city of Tehran received text messages warning them to ‘take care of their teenagers’.

The messages, seen by Al Jazeera, could be interpreted as encouraging families not to let young people join anti-regime protesters across the city.

The message apparently reads: ‘Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.’

On Monday, Trump said on his Truth Social platform he would impose a 25 per cent tariff on goods from countries that are ‘doing business’ with Tehran, describing the order as ‘final and conclusive’.

The country is already subject to severe US sanctions and faces a collapsing currency as well as inflation that has seen food prices raised by 70 per cent. 

Brazil, China, Russia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are among economies that do business with Tehran. 

A spokesperson for China’s embassy in the US described the newly announced tariffs on Iran’s trade partners as ‘indiscriminate’.

‘Tariff wars and trade wars have no winners, and coercion and pressure cannot solve problems,’ Liu Pengyu said.

‘Protectionism harms the interests of all parties. China firmly opposes any illicit unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction, and will take all necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.’

Iranians could call abroad on mobile phones on Tuesday for the first time since communications were halted during the crackdown on nationwide protests.

Several people in Tehran were able to call The Associated Press and speak to a journalist there. 

The AP bureau in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was unable to call those numbers back. 

The witnesses said SMS text messaging still was down and that internet users in Iran could connect to government-approved websites locally but nothing abroad.

The witnesses gave a brief glimpse into life on the streets of the Iranian capital over the four and a half days of being cut off from the world. 

They described seeing a heavy security presence in central Tehran.

Anti-riot police officers, wearing helmets and body armour, carried batons, shields, shotguns and tear gas launchers. They stood watch at major intersections.

Nearby, the witnesses saw members of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force, who similarly carried firearms and batons. 

Security officials in plainclothes were visible in public spaces as well.

Several banks and government offices were burned during the unrest, they said. 

ATMs had been smashed and banks struggled to complete transactions without the internet, the witnesses added.

Shops were open, though there was little foot traffic in the capital. Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, where the demonstrations began December 28, was to open Tuesday.

However, a witness described speaking to multiple shopkeepers who said the security forces ordered them to reopen no matter what.

Iranian state media had not acknowledged that order. 

‘My customers talk about Trump’s reaction while wondering if he plans a military strike against the Islamic Republic,’ said shopkeeper Mahmoud, who gave only his first name out of concerns for his safety. 

‘I don’t expect Trump or any other foreign country cares about the interests of Iranians.’

Reza, a taxi driver who also gave just his first name, said protests remain on many people’s minds. ‘People – particularly young ones – are hopeless but they talk about continuing the protests,’ he said.

Meanwhile, it appeared that security service personnel were searching for Starlink terminals as people in northern Tehran reported authorities raiding apartment buildings with satellite dishes.

While satellite television dishes are illegal, many in the capital have them in their homes and officials broadly had given up on enforcing the law in recent years.

On the streets, people also could be seen challenging plainclothes security officials, who were stopping passersby at random.

State television also read a statement about mortuary and morgue services being free – a signal some likely charged high fees for the release of bodies amid the crackdown.

In an interview with CBS News, Pahlavi, son of Iran’s last shah, said Trump ‘has a decision to make fairly soon’.

He said the current Iranian regime was ‘trying to trick the world into thinking that [it] is ready to negotiate once again’.

He described the US president as ‘a man that means what he says and says what he means’ and who ‘knows what’s at stake’. 

Sparked by economic grievances, the nationwide protests have grown into one of the biggest challenges yet to the theocratic system that has ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution ousted the shah.

Iran’s internet shutdown passed the 108-hour mark this morning, according to an update from the internet tracking agency NetBlocks.

The tracking agency said the blackout could be circumvented with shortwave radio, connecting to cell coverage at borders, Starlink and satellite phones.

Over 90 million residents have been cut off from the Internet since protests began. 

Rubina Aminian, a 23-year-old student, was shot in the head ‘from close range’ during the anti-government protests on Thursday.

‘Sources close to Rubina’s family, citing eyewitnesses, told Iran Human Rights that the young Kurdish woman from Marivan was shot from close range from behind, with the bullet striking her head,’ the group said in a statement. 

Aminian attended Shariati College in Iran’s capital, Tehran, where she studied textile and fashion design.

After leaving college, she joined the protest where she was killed.

‘After much struggle, Rubina’s family eventually managed to retrieve her body and return to Kermanshah.

‘However, upon arrival, they found that intelligence forces had surrounded their home and that they were not allowed to bury her.’

The family was ‘forced to bury her body along the road’ between Kermanshah and nearby Kamyaran, the group added.

The US virtual embassy in Tehran urged US citizens to leave the country ‘now’ and to have arrangements for exiting that do not ‘rely’ on the US government for help.

In an urgent security alert published on Tuesday, the embassy warned: 

‘Protests across Iran are escalating and may turn violent, resulting in arrests and injuries. 

‘Increased security measures, road closures, public transportation disruptions, and internet blockages are ongoing.

‘The government of Iran has restricted access to mobile, landline, and national internet networks. Airlines continue to limit or cancel flights to and from Iran, with several suspending service until Friday, January 16.’

It encouraged US citizens to stay clear of protests, ‘keep a low profile’ and, if it is deemed safe enough, leave Iran ‘by land’ to Armenia or Turkey.

If exiting the country proves impossible, US citizens should find a ‘secure location’ within a safe building or their residence, and build up a supply of food, water and medication. 

Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong also has urged her country’s nationals in Iran to leave ‘now’.

‘Australia stands with the brave people of Iran in their struggle against an oppressive regime,’ she wrote on X. 

‘We unequivocally condemn the Iranian regime’s brutal crackdown on its own people – the killing of protesters, the use of force, and arbitrary arrests must stop.

‘Our ability to provide services in Iran is extremely limited. I urge any Australians still in Iran to leave now while commercial options are available.’

The Israeli military said it is ‘prepared for defence’ in regards to developments in Tehran, but insisted the demonstrations are an ‘internal matter’.

It comes after Mohammad Baagher Qalibaf, the hard-liner speaker of the Parliament of Iran, said Israel and ‘all American military centres, bases and ships in the region will be our legitimate targets’ in the event of an attack on Tehran.

‘The IDF is prepared for defense and on alert for surprise scenarios if required. The protests in Iran are an internal matter. We continue to conduct ongoing situation assessments and will update on any changes if and when they occur,’ spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin said. 

According to the state-affiliated Fars news agency, the government in Iran announced a new economic plan in a news conference earlier.

The regime said the new plan would boost the spending power of citizens.

On December 28, protests broke out in two major markets in downtown Tehran, after the Iranian rial plunged to 1.42 million to the US dollar, a new record low, compounding inflationary pressure and pushing up the prices of food and other daily necessities.

The government had raised prices for nationally subsidised gasoline in early December, increasing discontent.

A day later, Central Bank head Mohammad Reza Farzin resigned as the protests in Tehran spread to other cities, while police fired tear gas to disperse demonstrations in the capital.

Meanwhile, President Pezeshkian met with a group of business leaders to listen to their demands and pledged his administration would ‘not spare any effort for solving problems’ with the economy.

On December 31, Iran appointed Abdolnasser Hemmati as the country’s new central bank governor.

Officials in southern Iran said that protests in the city of Fasa turned violent after crowds broke into the governor’s office and injured police officers.

The EU’s top diplomat said the bloc is planning on placing additional sanctions on Iran, amid the regime’s harsh crackdown on the country.

Kaja Kallas told Politico: ‘The EU already has sweeping sanctions in place on Iran — on those responsible for human rights abuses, nuclear proliferation activities and Tehran’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine — and I am prepared to propose additional sanctions in response to the regime’s brutal repression of protestors’.

In 2011, the bloc introduced sanctions against Iran for what it called ‘serious human rights violations’, and it has renewed them annually ever since. 

Today, Merz reiterated calls for heavier sanctions. 

‘We call on the Iranian leadership to protect its population rather than threaten it,’ the German Chancellor wrote on X.

‘The regime’s violence against its own people is not a sign of strength, but of weakness. It must end immediately. To underscore this message, we are working on further EU sanctions.’ 

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said that a channel to the US remained open, but talks needed to be ‘based on the acceptance of mutual interests and concerns, not a negotiation that is one-sided, unilateral and based on dictation’. 

The UN human ‌rights chief said on Tuesday that he was ‘horrified’ by mounting ​violence by Iran’s security forces ​against peaceful ​protesters.

‘This cycle of horrific violence ⁠cannot continue. The Iranian people and ​their demands ‍for ​fairness, equality and justice must be heard,’ Volker Turk said in a statement.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Sunday that he was ‘shocked by reports of violence and excessive use of force by the Iranian authorities against protesters resulting in deaths and injuries in recent days’. 

A military escalation between the US and Iran would have grave consequences for the region, Qatar said Tuesday after Washington threatened strikes in response to a government crackdown on protests.

‘We know that any escalation… would have catastrophic results in the region and beyond, and therefore we want to avoid that as much as possible,’ Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said at a press conference in Doha.

Protests have taken place in at least 186 cities and towns across all of Iran’s provinces, according to US-based Iranian Human Rights Activists News Agency. 

The demonstrations mark the largest in Iran since a nationwide uprising in 2022, sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman who was detained by morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly. 

According to Human Rights Watch, more than 500 people, including 68 children, were killed by security forces during the Woman, Life, Freedom protests that swept the country, while 20,000 were arrested.