Iran Says It Will Not Execute Protester Amid International Outcry

The judiciary said that Erfan Soltani would not be executed, Iranian state media reported. His case has drawn attention to the fate of the arrested demonstrators.A photograph of Erfan Soltani made available by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights.Credit...Via Hengaw Organization for Human Rights.Jan. 15, 2026, 7:33 a.m. ETIran’s judiciary said on Thursday that it had not issued a death sentence for Erfan Soltani, a protester whose execution had been widely reported as imminent and drawn intense international attention.The comments were reported by Iran’s state broadcaster, and were published on social media. President Trump said on Wednesday that he had been told the execution of protesters would not go ahead, and that the killing in Iran stopped, without offering further details.“This is good news,” Mr. Trump 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.Iran and the region remain on edge, however, 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.The protester, Mr. Soltani, 26, was sentenced to death just days after he was arrested in early January, his family and human rights groups had said.ImageA photograph posted on social media showing a protest in Tehran last week. Credit...via Associated PressThe Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, or IRIB, said on social media that the judiciary had said 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.“If the charges are confirmed by the prosecutor’s office and a legal verdict is issued by a competent court, the punishment provided for by law will be imprisonment,” the state broadcaster’s post said. Mr. Soltani was being held at the Central Prison of Karaj, west of the capital Tehran, it added.On Wednesday night, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, denied that Iran intended to execute protesters, calling the claim part of a misinformation campaign by outside elements designed to provoke Mr. Trump into taking action against his country. In an interview on Fox News, Mr. Araghchi added that he had not heard of plans to hang demonstrators. For more than two weeks, the Iranian authorities have mounted a sweeping crackdown on protests, deploying a range of heavy-handed tactics in an effort to suppress some of the largest demonstrations the country’s clerical authoritarian rulers have faced since taking power nearly half a century ago.The unrest erupted in late December, when merchants and shopkeepers in Tehran’s markets and bazaars 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, as well as years of graft and mismanagement.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.Iran’s chief justice, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, said on Thursday that the prosecution of “rioters” — a term officials have used to refer to the protesters — would be carried out swiftly.“Those elements who were connected to foreign intelligence services and their handlers, and who provided direction to rioters and terrorists either on the ground or from outside, are among the top priorities for prosecution and punishment,” Mr. Mohseni-Ejei was quoted by the state broadcaster as saying.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.Kiana Hayeri, Sanam Mahoozi 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.SKIP