Donald Trump weighs up strike on Iran as deadline for hanging first protester passes: US President poised to strike after warning Tehran of 'very strong action' if execution of shopkeeper, 26, was carried out overnight
- GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING
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 likely to become the first person executed over the demonstrations, with reports saying he would be hanged on Wednesday 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.
Donald Trump has warned that the US 'will take very strong action' if Iran executes protesters
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, January 9, 2026
Trump's remarks came after it was reported Erfan Soltani (pictured) will become the first person to be executed over the demonstrations
He has kept his options open while advisers met to discuss their next steps, including military intervention.
When asked last night 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 on Wednesday (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.
It is likely that Soltani is being subjected to abuse and torture in prison
Iranian officials put the death toll at more than 2,000 after weeks of protests across the country
Demonstrations have been ongoing since December, triggered by soaring inflation and the collapse of the rial, and have expanded into broader demands for political change. Pictured: Protesters block a road on January 8, 2026, in Tehran
Fires are lit as protesters rally on January 8, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Demonstrations have been ongoing since December, triggered by soaring inflation and the collapse of the rial, and have expanded into broader demands for political change
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 was protesting against the current situation in Iran.'
Ms 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.
In this photo obtained by The Associated Press, protesters chant slogans during an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, January 8, 2026
Communications restrictions, including an internet blackout have hampered the flow of information in Iran
Dozens of bodies lying inside the Tehran Province Forensic Diagnostic and Laboratory Centre in Kahrizak, with what appears to be grieving relatives searching for loved ones
Protestors burn images of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally held in Solidarity with Iran's Uprising, organised by The national Council of Resistance of Iran, on Whitehall in central London
'I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian officials until the senseless killing of protesters stops. Help is on its way. MIGA [Make Iran Great Again]. Donald J. Trump.'
Iran, in turn, has accused the US leader of encouraging political destabilisation and inciting violence.
In response to Trump's social media post that 'help is on the way,' Iran's UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said the US president was inciting violence, threatening the country's sovereignty and security and seeking to destabilise the government.
'The United States and the Israeli regime bear direct and undeniable legal responsibility for the resulting loss of innocent civilian lives, particularly among the youth,' he wrote in a letter to the UN Security Council on Tuesday.
In Britain, Iran's ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Office as the UK announced another package of economic sanctions against the regime.
Addressing MPs, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper described the regime's response to public protests as 'abhorrent'.
Ms Cooper did not give specifics on what sanctions would be put in place or explain why the ambassador had only just been summoned but said 'measures will target finance, energy, transport, software and other significant industries'.
Ms Cooper stopped short of recommending UK citizens to leave Iran, despite British holidaymakers Craig and Lindsay Foreman being detained by Tehran without charge. France, the US and Germany have already advised their citizens to leave Iran.
She told MPs: 'The United Kingdom condemns in the strongest of terms the horrendous and brutal killing of Iranian protesters, and we demand the Iranian authorities respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of its citizens.'
Communications restrictions, including an internet blackout, have hampered the flow of information in Iran.
The UN said phone service had been restored but the internet still faced restrictions.
Holistic Resilience, a US organization that works to expand information access in repressive or closed societies, said on Tuesday that billionaire Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet service was now available for free in Iran.
The unrest, sparked by dire economic conditions, has posed the biggest internal challenge to Iran's rulers for at least three years and has come at a time of intensifying international pressure after Israeli and US strikes last year.
The protests began on December 28 over the fall in value of the nation's currency and have grown into wider demonstrations and calls for the fall of the clerical establishment.
Iran's authorities have taken a dual approach, cracking down while also calling protests over economic problems legitimate.
So far there are no signs of fracture in the security elite that could bring down the clerical system in power since a 1979 Islamic Revolution.
