US President Donald Trump criticized Tehran for executing protesters at a level not seen before, stating that Iran cannot afford to fund a significant portion of its armed forces and is facing a “humanitarian crisis of epic proportions”.
Trump renewed his criticism of the executions of protesters in Iran, claiming that Tehran can no longer afford to fund its armed forces. On his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, he wrote that “The failing Islamic Republic of Iran is not paying a significant portion of its military while killing protesters, even when they are not protesting, at levels not seen before”. He added that this is a “humanitarian crisis of epic proportions, and it must be stopped immediately”.
This statement came a few days after 32 countries, including France, Great Britain, and Canada, issued a joint statement condemning Iran’s use of executions to suppress dissent.
In January, Trump, warning of imminent executions, stated that the United States would take “very severe measures” if they occurred. A few days later, he said that reliable sources had informed him of the halt of executions of “over 800 detained protesters”, although Iranian officials did not confirm this statement. In April, Trump reported that eight Iranian women, depicted in a photograph circulating online, had been sentenced to death, and called for their release. The next day, he stated that they had been pardoned. An investigation by Euronews Persian, citing two independent human rights organizations, found that only one of the eight women, Beita Hemmati, had actually received a death sentence. Last month, Trump reposted materials about the executions of protesters and, responding to the killing of a 23-year-old demonstrator Ghol-Mohammad Mohammadi, called the Islamic Republic “barbaric”.
Increase in the number of executions in Iran
International concern over Iran’s use of the death penalty against protesters has significantly increased. On August 12, 32 countries, including France, Great Britain, and Canada, issued a joint statement condemning the Islamic Republic’s use of the death penalty to “suppress dissent” and calling for an immediate halt to executions and the release of arbitrarily detained individuals.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated that Tehran is using executions to “create fear”. According to Türk, since March 19, 2026, at least 56 people have been executed on charges related to national security, of which 27 were in cases related to the January protests. Türk added that over 100 other individuals are at risk of execution.
The Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, an Iranian human rights organization based in Washington, recorded at least 901 executions in Iran in the first seven months of 2026. Of these, 56 were related to political charges or charges of crimes against national security, and at least 29 were related to the January protests.
Scale of protests and number of victims
The January 2026 protests erupted after the collapse of the Iranian rial the previous month and quickly spread to over 180 cities. During the suppression of the protests on January 8 and 9, security forces killed thousands of people. The Supreme National Security Council of Iran reported the deaths of over 3,000 individuals. The UN Special Rapporteur on Iran estimated this figure to be at least 5,000, while human rights groups and insiders in Iran believe that the actual number of deaths could have exceeded 32,000.
According to Iran Human Rights and the organization Together Against the Death Penalty, in 2025, at least 1,639 people were executed in Iran, the highest annual figure since 1989.
Source: Euronews
