The Iranian regime seems unbothered by Donald Trump’s warnings. More than 2,500 people have reportedly died in the country while protesting against the government, and thousands more have been arrested by the authorities.
Trump has repeatedly warned that the Middle Eastern country will face dire consequences if it executes detained protesters. However, the regime appears to be ignoring the U.S. president, as the Chief Justice of Iran, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, has announced that protesters’ trials will be fast-tracked in courts and they could soon face capital punishment.
Mohseni-Ejei said in a video message, “If we want to do a job, we should do it now. If we want to do something, we have to do it quickly. If it becomes late, two months, three months later, it doesn’t have the same effect. If we want to do something, we have to do that fast.”
EXCLUSIVE: In an interview with @TonyDokoupil, President Trump says the U.S. will take “very strong action” in Iran if the regime starts hanging protesters. “We don’t want to see what’s happening in Iran happen,” he said. “It’s not gonna work out good.”
Watch more tonight on the… pic.twitter.com/0q1pu791dt
— CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil (@CBSEveningNews) January 13, 2026
US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency has estimated that more than 18,400 people have been arrested in Iran since the beginning of the protests in December last year. The lives of all these people are at stake now that the Chief Justice has talked about swift action against them. The death toll in the country currently stands at 2,571, according to Human Rights Activists News Agency.
On Tuesday, Trump had an interview with CBS, in which he revealed that Iran must get ready for strong action if the authorities start hanging the country’s citizens. Trump said, “We will take very strong action. If they do such a thing, we will take very strong action.”
The President added that he will not tolerate the killing of thousands of people and said, “We don’t want to see what’s happening in Iran happen. And you know, if they want to have protests, that’s one thing, when they start killing thousands of people, and now you’re telling me about hanging – we’ll see how that works out for them. It’s not going to work out good.”
🚨 IRAN starts hanging protesters.
Erfan Soltani, 26, to be executed Jan 14.
Internet cut. Snipers failed. Now gallows.@realDonaldTrump — you promised the Iranian people.
Don’t let them die in silence.@EU_Commission https://t.co/g18K5D9YFh pic.twitter.com/bHNACOOAHo
— Niloofar 🇮🇷 (@niloojoon66) January 12, 2026
Trump also posted a message for Iranian protesters on Truth Social and asked them to continue to fight while ‘help was on its way.’ In retaliation, Iranian officials warned that if the nation is attacked by the US military, it will launch strikes on US bases in its neighboring countries.
An Iranian official told Reuters, “Tehran has told regional countries, from Saudi Arabia and UAE to Turkey, that US bases in those countries will be attacked if the US targets Iran… asking these countries to prevent Washington from attacking Iran.”
Amid rising tensions, multiple countries have asked their citizens to leave Iran. Dozens of flights to the country have also been canceled. Meanwhile, people continue to protest against the government despite the arrests and execution warnings.
