Iran To Hang Man, 26, In 1st Execution Over Anti-Khamenei Protests: Reports

Iran is allegedly set to execute its first protester following mass arrests in connection with the widespread anti-regime demonstrations. Erfan Soltani, 26, who was arrested last week during the protests in Karaj near the capital, Tehran, is scheduled to be hanged to death on Wednesday without getting a proper trial, according to human rights groups.

"His family was told that he had been sentenced to death and that the sentence is due to be carried out on 14 January," Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) reported, quoting sources. 

IHR said it had confirmed 648 people killed during the protests, including nine minors, but warned that the number of deaths was likely much higher -- "according to some estimates, more than 6,000". The internet shutdown has made it "extremely difficult to independently verify these reports," IHR said, adding that an estimated 10,000 people had been arrested.

"The widespread killing of civilian protesters in recent days by the Islamic Republic is reminiscent of the regime's crimes in the 1980s, which have been recognised as crimes against humanity," IHR Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said.

رژیم جنایتکار جمهوری اسلامی قصد دارد عرفان سلطانی، جوان آزادی‌خواه را که روز شنبه در جریان خیزش ملی ایران در فردیس استان البرز بازداشت کرده، روز چهارشنبه با عنوان «اعدام» به قتل برساند.

تنها جرم او فریاد آزادی برای ایران است.

صدای او باشید و برای نجات عرفان سلطانی تلاش کنید! pic.twitter.com/AHjhzxWTmo

— National Union for Democracy in Iran (@NUFDIran) January 12, 2026

"The international community has a duty to protect civilian protesters against mass killing by the Islamic Republic," he added.

Another rights group, the National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFD), also called for international support to halt Soltani's execution.

"His only crime is shouting for freedom for Iran. Be his voice," the group wrote on X.

What We Know About Erfan Soltani

Soltani was arrested on Saturday during the protests in Karaj and charged with "waging war against God", a crime punishable by death in Iran, according to a report by The US Sun. 

He was allegedly denied access to a lawyer, the NUFD claimed. 

Soltani's alleged execution has yet to be independently verified amid a communications blackout in Iran as the country's theocratic regime of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei seeks to quell the dissent.

Iran Protests

Iran on Monday sought to regain control of the streets with mass nationwide rallies that Khamenei hailed as proof that the protest movement was defeated. In power since 1989 and now 86, Khamenei said the pro-government turnout was a "warning" to the United States. 

"These massive rallies, full of determination, have thwarted the plan of foreign enemies that was supposed to be carried out by domestic mercenaries," he said, according to state TV, referring to pro-government demonstrations. 

In the capital, Tehran, state TV showed people brandishing the national flag and prayers read for victims of what the government has termed "riots". 

At Enghelab (Revolution) Square, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told the crowd that Iran was fighting a "four-front war", listing economic war, psychological war, "military war" with the United States and Israel, and "today a war against terrorists"—a reference to the protests.  Flanked by the slogans "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" in Persian, he vowed the Iranian military would teach Trump "an unforgettable lesson" if attacked. 

Trump, on the other hand, said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its crackdown on protesters that activists said had killed at least 646 people. Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran, including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who weren't authorised to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.