{"id":17609,"date":"2026-01-14T06:11:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T14:11:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=17609"},"modified":"2026-01-26T07:25:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T15:25:53","slug":"iran-signals-fast-trials-and-executions-for-protesters-as-death-toll-in-crackdown-goes-over-2500-associated-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=17609","title":{"rendered":"“Iran signals fast trials and executions for protesters as death toll in crackdown goes over 2,500”, Associated Press"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WORLD NEWS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number of dead dwarfs the death toll from any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country\u2019s 1979 Islamic Revolution. The demonstrations began a little over two weeks ago in anger over Iran\u2019s ailing economy and soon targeted the theocracy, particularly 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iranian state television, in a broadcast on Tuesday, offered the first official acknowledgment of deaths in protests across the country, quoting an official saying there was \u201ca high number of martyrs\u201d and that it did not release a toll earlier because of the dead suffering gruesome injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"This<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This frame grab from footage circulating on social media shows protesters dancing and cheering around a bonfire as they take to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world, in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP, File)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"In<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a ceremony to mark the Shiite holiday of Eid al-Ghadir, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, June 25, 2024. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP, File)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>BY JON GAMBRELL<\/a> Updated 4:24 AM PST, January 14, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leer en espa\u00f1ol<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) \u2014 The head of Iran\u2019s judiciary signaled Wednesday there would be fast trials and executions ahead for those detained in nationwide protests<\/a> despite a warning from U.S. President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The comments from Iran\u2019s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei come as activists had warned hangings of those detained could come soon. Already, a bloody security force crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,571, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. That figure dwarfs the death toll from any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country\u2019s 1979 Islamic Revolution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump repeatedly has warned<\/a> that the United States may take military action over the killing of peaceful protesters, just months after it bombed Iranian nuclear sites during a 12-day war launched by Israel against the Islamic Republic in June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile Wednesday, Iran held a mass funeral of some 100 security force members killed in the demonstrations after authorities earlier said it would be 300. Tens of thousands of mourners attended, holding Iranian flags and photos of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The caskets, covered in Iranian flags, stood stacked at least three high. Red and white roses and framed photographs of people who were killed covered them.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

RELATED STORIES<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Internet and phones cut in Iran as protesters heed exiled prince’s call for mass demonstration<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The death toll from a crackdown on protests in Iran jumps to at least 2,571, activists say<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

People elsewhere remained fearful in the streets. Plainclothes security forces still milled around some neighborhoods, though anti-riot police and members of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard\u2019s all-volunteer Basij force appeared to have been sent back to their barracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are very frightened because of these sounds (of gunfire) and protests,\u201d said one mother of two children shopping for fruits and vegetables Wednesday, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. \u201cWe have heard many are killed and many are injured. Now peace has been restored but schools are closed and I\u2019m scared to send my children to school again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahmadreza Tavakoli, 36, told The Associated Press he witnessed one demonstration in Tehran and was shocked by the use of firearms by authorities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople were out to express themselves and protest, but quickly it turned into a war zone,\u201d Tavakoli said. \u201cThe people do not have guns. Only the security forces have guns.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018We have to do it quickly\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mohseni-Ejei made the comment in a video shared by Iranian state television online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we want to do a job, we should do it now. If we want to do something, we have to do it quickly,\u201d he said. \u201cIf it becomes late, two months, three months later, it doesn\u2019t have the same effect. If we want to do something, we have to do that fast.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His comments stand as a direct challenge to Trump, who warned Iran about executions an interview with CBS aired Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will take very strong action,\u201d Trump said. \u201cIf they do such a thing, we will take very strong action.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to see what\u2019s happening in Iran happen. And you know, if they want to have protests, that\u2019s one thing, when they start killing thousands of people, and now you\u2019re telling me about hanging \u2014 we\u2019ll see how that works out for them. It\u2019s not going to work out good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One Arab Gulf diplomat told the AP that major Mideast governments had been discouraging the Trump administration from launching a war now with Iran, fearing \u201cunprecedented consequences\u201d for the region that could explode into a \u201cfull-blown war.\u201d The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn\u2019t authorized to speak to journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, activists said Wednesday that Starlink was offering free service in Iran. The satellite internet service has been key in getting around an internet shutdown<\/a> launched by the theocracy on Jan. 8. Iran began allowing people to call out internationally on Tuesday via their mobile phones, but calls from people outside the country into Iran remain blocked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe can confirm that the free subscription for Starlink terminals is fully functional,\u201d said Mehdi Yahyanejad, a Los Angeles-based activist who has helped get the units into Iran. \u201cWe tested it using a newly activated Starlink terminal inside Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starlink itself did not immediately acknowledge the decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Security service personnel also apparently were searching for Starlink dishes, 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 homes, and officials broadly had given up on enforcing the law in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Death toll continues to rise <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Human Rights Activists News Agency said 2,403 of the dead were protesters and 147 were government-affiliated. Twelve children were killed, along with nine civilians it said were not taking part in protests. More than 18,100 people have been detained, the group said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult, and the AP has been unable to independently assess the toll<\/a> given the communications being disrupted in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

___<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>JON GAMBRELL<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gambrell is the news director for the Gulf and Iran for The Associated Press. He has reported from each of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Iran and other locations across the world since joining the AP in 2006.<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WORLD NEWS The number of dead dwarfs the death toll from any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country\u2019s 1979 Islamic Revolution. The demonstrations began a little over two weeks ago in anger over Iran\u2019s ailing economy and soon targeted the theocracy, particularly 86-year-old Supreme […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1001004,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17609"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1001004"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17609"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17609\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17674,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17609\/revisions\/17674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}