AN Iranian is due to be executed tomorrow, just four days after he was seized for taking part in anti-government protests.
Erfan Soltani, 26, was held on Saturday in a brutal crackdown by the teetering regime which has seen more than 500 protesters killed and 10,000 arrested.
It is thought he was charged with ‘waging war against God’, which is punishable by death in Iran, following his arrest in the city of Fardis, near Tehran.
Supporters say he has not been allowed legal advice and had no chance to defend himself before a verdict of death by hanging was delivered.
He was allowed to see his family for just ten minutes yesterday to say goodbye, according to activists.
The National Union for Democracy in Iran said: “He was denied access to a lawyer. Erfan’s only crime was calling for freedom.”
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His execution will be the first of a protester since the uprising began at the end of last year.
Tehran is now beginning to expedite court hearings so they can execute convicted “ringleaders of unrest”.
Donald Trump, one of Iran’s biggest foes, has responded to the deadly crackdown on civilian protests by threatening to use military force on Tehran in order to restore peace.
The US president could decide to attack Iran as soon as today, despite Tehran requesting a meeting in a phone call at the weekend.
He will be briefed on specific options on Tuesday and could opt for military action despite Iran pleading with him to negotiate
He said: “We may have to act before a meeting. The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options.
Iran responded by vowing to target American military and commercial sites if Washington hit them first.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi added: “The Islamic Republic of Iran is not seeking war but is fully prepared for war.”
Such an attack would be met with a crushing response, warned Trump.
He said: “We will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
“The leaders of Iran, they want to negotiate. I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States.”
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei posted a cartoon of a crumbling Trump statue on X and said: “He too will be overthrown.”
Deadly protests – which have taken place at 585 locations in 186 cities in all of Iran’s 31 provinces – have now entered a third week.
At least 544 people have been killed, including eight children, with 10,681 arrested, among them 169 youngsters.
Football referee Amir Mohammad Koohkan, 26, was among those killed when he was shot in the town of Neyriz.
A friend said: “Everyone knew him for his kindness.”
Footage shows dozens of body bags piled up outside a coroner’s office in Tehran as people form queues to identify the bodies of their loved ones.
The Ayatollah’s ruthless security forces are accused of directly killing hundreds of the protesters as they try to tackle the uprising.
Protests first erupted with shopkeepers over soaring inflation but have since dramatically turned towards forcing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei out of power.
The growing disdain over Khamenei’s reign has led to the Ayatollah hitting back at the furious mobs taking to the streets.
He has ordered all of the supposed ringleaders of the protests who are now in jail to be sentenced to death and immediately executed.
There are now growing fears that many of the executions this week could be done publicly in a show of force against dissidents.
Iran has a dark history of killing off criminals in brutal fashion.
A chilling image from 2007, showed the brutality after four Iranian convicts were seen hanging from a crane over a crowded city.
Other executions are treated as celebratory events for the regime and its followers and often draw in huge crowds.
Just last August, a murderer was hung from a crane in front of a grim, cheering crowd of locals and children.
In 2025 alone, the regime sent at least 1,200 prisoners to the gallows.
Many of the horror stories coming out of Iran are feared to be being buried by the desperate government who imposed an internet blackout last week.
Britain must back freedom and stand with courageous rebels in Iran
THE SUN ON SUNDAY
YOU would think the attempts by thousands of freedom protesters to overthrow a brutal, murderous regime would warrant some serious support from any British government.
After all we are talking about a tyranny which has promoted terror across the globe and threatened the West with a far-reaching nuclear programme.
But, apart from Sir Keir Starmer’s mealy-mouthed joint European statement calling for “restraint”, the mass uprising against Iran’s blood-soaked supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been received by near- silence from the Labour hierarchy.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper seems to have lost her voice and the mass ranks of government MPs have hardly breathed a dicky bird.
Not a single Labour MP on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee has even so much as tweeted.
Compare that to the party’s fire and fury which blazed daily against Israel for its response to the worst antisemitic attack since the Holocaust.
Perhaps Labour fears upsetting its Muslim base?
The PM says Britain’s shared values include “common respect for freedom, democracy, liberty.’’
Yet for almost 50 years the monstrous mullahs of Iran have overseen a brutal Islamic Republic which uses lethal force against women who don’t wear head coverings.
They have obliterated the right to freedom of expression and anyone in a same-sex relationship could face the death penalty.
Donald Trump’s bold strike against the country’s nuclear programme last year dealt it a devastating political blow.
Now the crumbling economy could be the final nail in the coffin of 86-year-old Khamenei and his barbarous henchmen.
But as they see their powerbase crumbling, the regime’s leaders have arrested almost 2,500 people, including 166 children, and used military grade weapons against unarmed protesters.
It is time for the PM to show his principles count. He and his foreign secretary should throw their wholehearted support behind this uprising.
If Britain backs freedom, democracy and liberty it must stand united with the courageous rebels in Iran.