Forbes – President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran had killed 32,000 people during recent protests against the country’s government without providing a source, a higher total than some other estimates, as he threatens military strikes against Iran.
Trump Threatened A Strike If Iran Killed Protesters
Soon after the protests in Iran began, Trump threatened the country with a military response from the U.S., saying in a Truth Social post, “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.” The president said days later in a meeting with oil executives that the U.S. would get involved if Iran started “killing people like they have in the past.” Trump noted the threat did not “mean boots on the ground, but it means hitting them very, very hard where it hurts.” Trump claimed in mid-January the “killing has stopped,” but the deaths continued, and the U.S. did not act.
Tangent
The president also reiterated a claim he successfully stopped Iran’s government from formally executing protesters, alleging Iran planned to hang 837 people but ceased after Trump threatened a direct military response. Mohammad Movahedi, Iran’s top prosecutor, denied Trump’s claim last month, telling state media the “claim is completely false; no such number exists, nor has the judiciary made any such decision.”
Big Number
53,522. That is how many arrests were made in Iran as of Feb 15, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency.
Key Background
The president, who authorized only somewhat-successful strikes against Iranian nuclear sites last year, has reconsidered military intervention in Iran recently. Demonstrations against the ruling party, led by Ali Khamenei, were triggered after the Iranian rial collapsed to historic lows and sent fears of higher food prices spiking. The U.S. and Iran have conducted nuclear talks in Geneva this month, and Abbas Araghchi, the head of the Iranian delegation, told Iranian state media this week the “path toward an agreement has started but we will not reach it quickly.” Trump is weighing an initial, limited strike against Iran to strongarm the country into a nuclear deal if necessary, according to multiple outlets.