WASHINGTON – Donald Trump warned that the US ‘will take very strong action’ if Iran executes pro-democracy protesters – as the world waits to see if a young shopkeeper has been hanged.
Trump threatened the country’s dictatorship while speaking to CBS News on Tuesday, as thousands of demonstrators were feared dead in a brutal crackdown.
‘‘If they hang them, you’re going to see some things,’’ the US president said.
His remarks came as 26-year-old Erfan Soltani was feared to likely become the first person executed over the demonstrations, with reports saying he would be hanged on Wednesday (yesterday) morning local time.
The US president was asked about the substantial death toll in Iran, reports that the regime had ordered such hangings – and whether this would constitute the crossing of a ‘red line’.
‘‘I haven’t heard about their hangings,’’ Trump said as he toured a Ford factory in Detroit.
‘‘We will take very strong action if they do such a thing.’’
When asked by a reporter what his ‘end game’ was, Trump said things would not go well for the Iranian leadership.
‘‘If they wanna have protests, that’s one thing. When they start killing thousands of people – now you’re telling me about hanging – we’ll see how that works out for them. It’s not gonna work out good,’’ Trump said.
The US president also told Iranians that ‘help is on its way’ in a cryptic social media post.
He has kept his options open while advisers met to discuss their next steps, including military intervention.
When asked what this ‘help’ could consist of, Trump responded: ‘‘You’re going to find out.’’
The president has said military action is among the options he is weighing to punish Iran over the crackdown.
‘The killing looks like it’s significant, but we don’t know yet for certain,’ said Trump upon returning to the Washington area from Detroit, adding he would know more after receiving a report on Tuesday evening about the Iran protests.
‘‘We’ll act accordingly,’’ he said.
Executions in Tehran typically happen around the dawn call to prayer – which was scheduled for around 5:45am local time yesterday (2:15am in the UK, 9:15pm Tuesday evening in New York).
There has been no update out of Tehran since that time passed.
Soltani is one of 10 700 individuals who have been arrested since protests began on December 28, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists New Agency.
The activists say the young Iranian’s ‘only crime is shouting for freedom’.
The 26-year-old, who owns a clothes shop, would reportedly be allowed just 10 minutes with his family before he is hanged.
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 ‘in despair’ at the ‘unprecedented’ situation.
She said: ‘‘Their son was never a political activist, just part of the younger generation who were protesting against the current situation in Iran.’’
Moradi added that there was ‘no information about him for days’ before authorities eventually called his family to inform them of Soltani’s arrest and imminent execution.
Iranian officials put the death toll at more than 2,000 after weeks of protests across the country.
But the true figure is likely to be far higher, with reports as many as 12,000 could have been killed.
Most of the fatalities were protesters, despite Trump’s pledge that the US would intervene militarily should the regime target civilians.
More than a week has passed since Trump, a supporter of regime change in Iran, said the US was locked and loaded should protesters be targeted.
Posting on social media yesterday, he further raised the prospect of an intervention, saying: ‘Keep protesting. Take over your institutions. Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price.
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