AN IRANIAN man who was reportedly sentenced to death in connection with the deadly anti-government protests has been released on bail.
Erfan Soltani, 26, was arrested in the city of Fardis, west of Tehran, as the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed “not to back down” in his lethal crackdown on demonstrations across the country.
Protesters burn pictures of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali as they march in support of regime change in IranCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
Erfan Soltani, who was arrested during protests in IranCredit: Reuters
US President Donald Trump threatened Iran to make a dealCredit: AFP
The student was charged with “assembly and collusion” against internal security as well as “propaganda activities” against the regime, according to the state broadcaster IRIB.
His arrest – and the followed reports that -attracted global attention, including from President Trump, who warned that he would “take strong action” against Iran if protesters were killed in sham trials.
He was among the 42,486 people snatched by Iranian security forces in a campaign of mass arrests and intimidation to deter further protests.
A large fire that broke out in a shopping centre in the west of Tehran this morning stoked further fear of state crackdowns.
Footage circulating on social media shows thick smoke visible from across the Iranian capital, believed to be coming from a neighbourhood market near the Niyayesh highway in the Jannatabad area.
Fire officials said the fire involved a 2,000-square-metre warehouse that was home to multiple stalls and businesses.
While the country is still reeling from the state’s massacres, Iranian state TV mocked the victims of the bloodiest unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
A segment from the political satire show “Khat-Khati” saw the presenter joking about the number of dead in response to speculation that the Islamic Republic was hiding their bodies.
“Which kind of refrigerator do you think the Islamic republic is using to preserve the corpses?” the presenter says.
“One: Side-by-side refrigerators. Two: Ice cream makers. Three: Supermarket freezers. Four: ‘I am an ice vendor. Don’t ruin my business.”‘
Iranian officials have put the toll from the demonstrations at more than 3,000, blaming the unrest on “armed terrorists” linked to Israel and the US.
The latest death toll compiled by the US-based HRANA rights group stands at 6,373 – 5,993 protesters, 214 security personnel, 113 under-18s and 53 bystanders.
But witnesses on the ground claims that crimes against humanity have been committed and that as many as 30,000 Iranians have been killed.
The Sun previously reported of to conceal the crimes of Iranian authorities.
Footage leaked from the Islamic Republic shows body bags dumped near morgues, and more piled up in trucks, freight containers or warehouses.
What is the latest on the Iran-US nuclear talks?
IRAN and the US will resume nuclear talks on Friday in Turkey.
Iran’s President, Masoud Pezeshkian, said today that he instructed the foreign minister to “pursue fair and equitable negotiations” with the US.
In a statement on X, he said that the decision came after “requests from friendly governments in the region to respond to the proposal by the President of the United States for negotiations.”
This is the first clear sign from that the Islamic Republic wants to try to negotiate as tensions in the Middle East remain high amid the bloodshed.
The talks would solely focus on nuclear issues, it is understood.
It comes as Donald Trump warned that with big US warships heading to Iran, “bad things” would probably happen if a deal could not be reached.
The UAE, a highly influential Gulf Arab power and close US ally, said a long-term solution was needed.
“I think that the region has gone through various calamitous confrontations. I don’t think we need another one, but I would like to see direct Iranian-American negotiations leading to understandings so that we don’t have these issues every other day,” the UAE president’s adviser Anwar Gargash told a panel at the World Governments Summit in Dubai.
Arrests are also continuing across the sprawling country, from small towns to the capital, witnesses and activists said.
Two Iranian officials, who wished to remain anonymous, said thousands of arrests had been carried out in the past few days.
They said many detainees were being held in unofficial detention centres, “including warehouses and other improvised locations”, and the judiciary was acting quickly to process cases.
“They arrested my brother and my cousin a few days ago,” said a resident of northwestern Iran who asked not to be named.
“They stormed our home in plainclothes, searched the entire house, and took all the laptops and mobile phones.
“They warned us that if we make this public, they will arrest all of us.”
Firefighters try to control the fire at the Jannat shopping market in western TehranCredit: EPA
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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