'Help is on its way': Trump encourages protesters in Iran and warns of 'very strong action' if ayatollahs begin mass executions

President Donald Trump assured on Tuesday that United States will take "very strong action" if Iranian authorities start executing people detained during demonstrations.

"We will take very strong action. If they do such a thing, we will take very strong action," the president said, questioned by a CBS reporter about possible executions by hanging that could take place as early as Wednesday.

"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," Trump declared.

Also on Tuesday, the president urged protesters to maintain their mobilization and overthrow the regime of the ayatollahs, whose repressive response to the protests has led to at least 734 deaths, according to the NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR). According to Reuters or The New York Times, members of the regime even acknowledge that the number would be between 2,000 or 3,000 people killed.

"Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price," the president wrote on his Truth Social account.

"I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY. MIGA!!!," Trump added.

The president had assured days earlier that the United States would intervene in the event of dead protesters, a limit that has already been exceeded with no response observed so far.

Internet blackout

At first, the protests focused on the rising cost of living, but have evolved into a mobilization against the theocratic regime that has ruled since the 1979 revolution and, since 1989, has been under the leadership of the supreme guide Ali Khamenei.

During the demonstrations, regime authorities have imposed strong restrictions on communications, including a near-total internet blackout in recent days. This measure was denounced by the chancellor of Finland, Elina Valtonen, who the described as an attempt by the regime "to be able to kill and oppress in silence."

Arbitrary executions

Meanwhile, human rights groups consulted by AFP speak of thousands of detainees since the protests began on Dec. 28, and fear that the power will make extensive use of the death penalty.

"Concern is growing that the authorities will again resort to expedited trials and arbitrary executions to crush and deter dissent," said Amnesty International.

IHR also highlighted the case of Erfan Soltani, 26, who was arrested last week in the satellite city of Tehran, Karaj, and who, according to a family source, has already been sentenced to death and could be executed immediately.

For its part, the Iranian regime maintained Wednesday that they are regaining control after the ongoing protests, which began two weeks ago.

The head of the judiciary in Iran promised "quick" trials for protesters detained during the demonstrations, described as "riots" by the authorities, Iranian state television reported.

"If someone has set a person on fire, beheaded him before burning his body, we must do our job quickly," Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei said during a visit to a prison where people are being held during the protests.

The international community in the face of horror

At the international level, the tone hardened. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, declared himself "horrified" by the repression and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced that sanctions will be proposed "swiftly" in response to the "horrifying" death toll.

Spain, France, UK, Finland, Denmark and Germany summoned Iranian diplomats to express their "condemnation" of the brutal crackdown on protests.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced Tuesday that the government had summoned the Iranian ambassador to denounce the "state violence that blindly descended on peaceful demonstrators."

Moreover, in the United Kingdom, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said they had summoned the Iranian ambassador "to underline the gravity of this moment and to hold Iran to account for the horrendous reports" the British government has received about the situation in the country.

"I have spoken to Foreign Minister Araghchi and told him directly: the Iranian government must immediately end the violence, uphold fundamental rights and freedoms, and ensure British nationals are safe," Cooper wrote in X.

In contrast, the Iranian mission to the U.N. posted in X that the Washington "handbook" "will fail again."

"U.S. fantasies and policy toward Iran are rooted in regime change, with sanctions, threats, orchestrated unrest and chaos as a modus operandi to manufacture a pretext for a military intervention," the Iranian statement said.

U.S. urges its citizens to leave Iran

The Trump Administration issued an urgent alert Monday asking U.S. citizens to leave Iran immediately, as protests in the country continue to escalate.

The U.S. virtual embassy for Iran urged its citizens to "leave Iran now" and to prepare exit routes that do not require government assistance.

"Increased security measures, road closures, public transportation disruptions, and internet blockages are ongoing," read the security alert, adding that "the Government of Iran has restricted access to mobile, landline and national internet networks."