In a concerning development, Iran is reportedly poised to carry out the first execution of a protester linked to the recent wave of anti-government demonstrations, human rights organizations have revealed.
According to the groups Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) and the National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFD), 26-year-old Erfan Soltani is slated for execution on Wednesday. Soltani was apprehended last week amidst protests in Karaj.
Sources informed IHRNGO that Soltani’s family received notification of his death sentence, which is set to be enforced on January 14.
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the director of IHRNGO, expressed grave concerns in a statement, equating the recent civilian protester killings by the Islamic Republic to the regime’s actions in the 1980s, actions that have been acknowledged as crimes against humanity.
In Tehran, fires light the night as demonstrators gather on January 8, 2026. (Getty Images)
The statement further emphasized the urgent threat of mass and extrajudicial executions, urging the international community to fulfill its Responsibility to Protect civilian protesters from the Islamic Republic and its Revolutionary Guard. The statement called on citizens and civil society groups in democratic nations to hold their governments accountable for ensuring this protection.
The NUFD is calling for international support to halt Soltani’s execution, stressing that his “only crime was calling for freedom” for Iran.
“Be his voice,” the group wrote on X.
Soltani was allegedly denied access to a lawyer, according to the NUFD.
According to The US Sun, Soltani was charged with “waging war against God,” a crime punishable by death in Iran.
Soltani’s alleged execution has yet to be independently verified amid a communications blackout as the country’s leaders seek to quell the dissent.
More than 10,000 people have reportedly been arrested in recent weeks for participating in the anti-government protests sparked by Iran’s failing economy, according to human rights groups, and many have begun to demand total regime change as the demonstrations continue.
An overturned car is seen on January 8, 2026, in Tehran, Iran. (Getty Images)
Tehran’s crackdown on the demonstrations has also led to more than 500 deaths, human rights groups said.
U.S. President Donald Trump has warned Tehran that violence against the protesters would be met with a U.S. military response, saying on Friday that they “better not start shooting, because we’ll start shooting, too.”
“Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday.
The White House confirmed on Monday that Trump was weighing whether to bomb Iran.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that diplomacy remains Trump’s first option, but that the president “has shown he’s unafraid to use military options if and when he deems necessary.”
“He certainly doesn’t want to see people being killed in the streets of Tehran. And unfortunately that’s something we are seeing right now,” she added.
A masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran’s Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
But many congressional lawmakers, including some within the Republican Party, have criticized the president’s threats to bomb Iran, with several arguing that he needs approval from Congress under the Constitution, that the U.S. should not be involved in another foreign affair and that military action could rally Iranian protesters behind the Ayatollah.
“We wish them the best,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said on Sunday. “We wish freedom and liberation the best across the world, but I don’t think it’s the job of the American government to be involved with every freedom movement around the world … If you bomb the government, do you then rally people to their flag who are upset with the Ayatollah, but then say, ‘Well, gosh, we can’t have a foreign government invading or bombing our country?’ It tends to have people rally to the cause.”
“Plus, there is this sticking point of the Constitution that we won’t let presidents bomb countries just when they feel like it,” he added. “They’re supposed to ask the people, through the Congress, for permission.”
Iranian officials have threatened to retaliate against U.S. troops in the region if the Pentagon were to strike, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying that Tehran is “fully prepared for war.”
