Iran appeared to backpedal on previous threats to execute protesters, amid global condemnation and fears of U.S. military action, even as the government continues a brutal crackdown after weeks of demonstrations.
Iran’s judiciary said on Thursday that it had not issued a death sentence for Erfan Soltani, 26, a protester whose execution had been widely reported as imminent and had drawn intense international attention. The comments were reported by Iran’s state broadcaster and published on social media.
As the authorities forcibly try to suppress the protests, thousands of people have been killed so far — mostly civilians but also members of the security services, according to rights groups.
President Trump said on Wednesday that he had been told the execution of protesters would not go ahead, and that the killing in Iran had stopped, without offering further details.
Yet analysts say that the Iranian government is also trying to make a distinction between ordinary protesters and those whom it calls rioters and terrorists, backed by foreign powers. That nuance of messaging, the analysts said, was intended to put pressure on citizens and dissuade them from protesting.
Iran’s chief justice, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, said on Thursday that the prosecution of “rioters” would be carried out swiftly, according to the state broadcaster. He added that individuals linked to “foreign intelligence services and their handlers,” and those who directed “rioters and terrorists” would be prioritized for prosecution and punishment.
It was not immediately clear how those people would be punished or how the authorities would define their alleged crimes.
Iran’s defense minister, Aziz Nasirzadeh, said on Thursday that the government would use all its resources to “crush savage armed terrorists,” according to a video shared by the semiofficial Tasnim news agency. And on Saturday, Iran’s attorney general, Mohammad Movahedi Azad, said that rioters would be considered “enemies of God,” a charge that could carry the death penalty.
The authorities have responded to the protests, which started in late December, with often lethal force. Eyewitnesses have said that government forces have opened fire on unarmed demonstrators at close range, aiming at the head, neck and chest, and leaving rows of bodies in their wake.
More than 2,500 people have been killed since the protests began, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, or HRANA, an organization based in Washington. The Norway-based Iran Human Rights said that more than 3,400 had been killed and thousands of others injured.
One of those killed was a Canadian citizen, Canada’s foreign minister, Anita Anand, said in a post on social media on Thursday.
The Iranian government is using violence — and other fear tactics — to try and quash the unrest. In recent days, protests appeared to have subsided on Tehran’s main streets, as authorities deployed anti-riot vehicles, water cannons and armored personnel carriers, according to eyewitnesses.
Police presence remained heavy on recent nights, with motorbike teams patrolling the streets. Residents said the authorities were forcing people off the streets by around 6 p.m., prompting shop owners to shut their businesses at the same time. Some residents added that the threat of execution had discouraged many from joining demonstrations in recent days.
Authorities have also sent text messages warning families not to let their children go out into the streets. This week, after Iranians were able to make international calls for the first time in days, several people with relatives in Iran told The New York Times that many became hesitant to go out starting last Friday, when the government began sending messages warning that they could be killed if they did.
“The fear has kept some people confined to their homes,” said Bita, who is based in the United Arab Emirates, and said she got a call from her mother in Iran this week after international calls there were again possible. She requested that only her first name be used, fearing retaliation.
Iran and the region remain on edge after Mr. Trump said in recent days that he would intervene to protect protesters. On Thursday, Iranian state media reported that the airspace over the country had reopened hours after it was restricted for most flights, a move that had fueled fears of a potential U.S.-Iran military confrontation.
On Wednesday night, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, denied that Iran intended to execute protesters, saying the claim was part of a disinformation campaign by outside elements designed to provoke Mr. Trump into taking action against Iran. In an interview on Fox News, Mr. Araghchi added that he had not heard of plans to hang demonstrators.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, or IRIB, cited the judiciary on Thursday as saying that Mr. Soltani faced “charges of assembly and collusion against national security and propaganda against the system.” It added that the death penalty does not exist in Iranian law for those offenses and that, if the charges were confirmed, he would be imprisoned.
Mr. Trump welcomed reports that Mr. Soltani would not face a death sentence. “This is good news,” he said on Thursday on social media, citing an unspecified Fox News report that said an unnamed Iranian protester and others would not be sentenced to death. “Hopefully, it will continue!” he said.
The unrest in Iran erupted when merchants and shopkeepers in Tehran, the capital, protested in response to the sharp collapse of the Iranian rial, soaring inflation and worsening economic conditions. Iran’s economy has been battered by crippling American and European sanctions and a 12-day war with Israel last year.
The protests quickly spread nationwide as demonstrators voiced broader discontent with the government. The authorities imposed an internet blackout, restricting the flow of information and making it difficult to track where protests have been occurring in recent days.
Mr. Trump has urged protesters to continue demonstrating, and has been exploring how to respond, including possible military strikes. Adding to the pressure on Iran, the United States announced a new round of sanctions on Thursday, including on Ali Larijani, the Secretary of the Supreme Council for National Security, and 18 other people and entities involved in Iran’s “shadow banking” network.
On Wednesday, the U.S. military began evacuating an unspecified number of nonessential personnel from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar because of the rising tensions, according to two American military officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters. Iran fired missiles at the base in June, after the United States attacked its nuclear sites.
Amid rising regional tensions on Thursday, analysts said the Iranian government was looking to consolidate its own base by violently suppressing protesters and portraying them as puppets of foreign powers.
“The government is not trying to win back protesting citizens or address their grievances,” said Omid Memarian, an Iranian human rights expert and senior fellow at DAWN, a Washington-based organization focused on the Middle East. “Its focus is entirely on keeping its own support base — military families, religious networks and traditional constituencies — unified, motivated and willing to justify violence.”
Kiana Hayeri and Leily Nikounazar contributed reporting.
Abdi Latif Dahir is a Middle East correspondent for The Times, covering Lebanon and Syria. He is based in Beirut.
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