Overview
- Family members and the rights group Hengaw say 26-year-old Erfan Soltani, arrested on January 8 in Fardis near Tehran, has been sentenced to death with the execution scheduled for Wednesday after an opaque, expedited process.
- Iran’s judiciary signaled a hard line as chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei urged swift punishment and Tehran prosecutors moved to seek capital sentences for detained demonstrators.
- Monitors report heavy casualties and detentions since late December, with Iran Human Rights citing at least 734 killed and other groups including HRANA and Hengaw reporting death tolls around 2,500 and mass arrests.
- President Donald Trump threatened a very hard U.S. response if executions proceed, with reporting that Washington is reviewing military, cyber, and sanctions options and has asked European partners for intelligence on possible targets.
- U.S.–Iran contacts were halted, Americans were urged to leave Iran, and some personnel were ordered to depart the Al-Udeid base in Qatar, as Iran warned it would strike U.S. regional bases and European figures called for tougher measures such as designating the IRGC a terrorist group.