Iran to hang anti-regime protester today; Trump warns of 'consequences' over violence

Iran is set to witness more brutality as the administration has decided to execute its first protester on Wednesday amid mass arrests of anti-regime protesters, New York Post reported, citing human rights groups.

26-year-old Erfan Soltani is allegedly scheduled to be hanged to death after his arrest during the protests in Karaj last Thursday, the Iran Human Rights (IHR) and National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFD) NGO groups said.

The NUFD reported that the man's "only crime is calling for freedom for Iran."

NUFD is also calling for international support to stop Soltani's hanging. He is allegedly unable to seek legal advice to defend himself, as reported by New York Post. The protester is being charged with "waging war against God," a crime punishable by death in Iran.

According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency report on Monday, at the end of the seventeenth day, a total of 614 protest gatherings had been recorded nationwide. These demonstrations took place in 187 cities and covered all 31 provinces of the country. The detention of 18,434 individuals has been confirmed.

The agency also said, the deaths of 2,403 protesters have been confirmed. Among those killed, 12 children (individuals under 18 years of age) have been recorded. 147 members of security forces and government supporters have been killed, including at least five civilian supporters of the government.

Meanwhile, amid the continuing protests, exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi on Tuesday appealed to protesters and the country's armed forces, asserting that the world not only saw and heard the demonstrators' courage and voice but is also "taking action".

He urged citizens to sustain the movement against the Khamenei regime and warned that those responsible for violence would eventually be held accountable. In a video message shared on X, Pahlavi said the US President Donald Trump had responded to the protests, asserting that the voices of Iranians were being heard beyond the country's borders.

Addressing protesters directly, he said, "My compatriots, as I told you in my previous message, the world not only saw and heard your courage and voice but is taking action. By now, you have undoubtedly heard the message from the President of the United States. Help is on the way."

Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump said that Iran was on his mind and that he is being apprised on the crackdown on protesters by the regime.

He warned Iran of "consequences" if it continues violent actions against its own citizens, saying Tehran "better behave".

Trump said that the United States would "review the situation" in regard of reports of killings and alleged executions during unrest in the country.

"We're going to look at the whole situation that's going on in Iran. Really bad stuff. But the Iran is on my mind when I see the kind of death that is happening over there. We're going to get some accurate numbers as to what's happening with regard to the killing," he said during his gaggle with Press at Joint Base Andrews.

On being asked if he wants to see democracy in Iran, Trump added that he would want to see a "little bit of freedom" for the Iranian people.

"Ideally, we would like to see it. We don't want to see people killed, and we want to see a little bit of freedom for these people. These people have been living in hell for a long time. I have friends who used to invest in Iran, and they did well with their investments. It was a great place. The people were great. Even the leadership was good. And now it is living in hell," he said.

When asked by a reporter about Iran's warning of retaliation in the event of US strikes, Trump responded, "Yeah, Iran said that the last time I blew them up with the nuclear capability, which they don't have any longer, so. they better behave."

When asked whether he had a message for Iran's leadership amid reports of violence against protesters, Trump said, "The message is they've got to show humanity. They've got a big problem, and I hope they're not going to be killing people. It would seem to me that they have been badly misbehaving, but that is not confirmed."

While responding to a question from CBS News reporter Emily Schrader during his tour of Ford Motor Company's historic River Rouge Complex in Michigan about reports of executions, Trump responded, "When they start killing thousands of people and now you're telling me about hanging (protesters), we'll see how that works out for them. It's not going to work out good."

Trump's remarks came amid heightened US messaging about the situation with Iran and a series of White House statements indicating that "many options" remain under review.