Iran's justice chief demands swift executions amid deadly protests

Thursday 15 January 2026 - 17:20

By: Dakir Madiha

Iran's justice chief demands swift executions amid deadly protests

Iran's judicial leader has called for accelerated trials and executions of protesters as antigovernment demonstrations sweep the country, claiming at least 2,615 lives according to human rights monitors. This marks the bloodiest political violence in the Islamic Republic's 47-year history, drawing parallels to the turmoil of the 1979 revolution that established the current theocracy. Security forces have killed thousands, with some estimates suggesting the true death toll could range from 12,000 to 20,000, even as reports indicate 153 government personnel also perished.

Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, head of Iran's judiciary, warned on state television that proceedings must move quickly to maximize impact, rejecting delays of months. Prosecutors plan to seek death sentences under charges of "war against God" for those labeled rioters and saboteurs. Over 18,400 individuals have been arrested since protests erupted on December 28, triggered by soaring inflation and the Iranian rial's collapse to 1.4 million per dollar in Tehran's Grand Bazaar.

G7 foreign ministers expressed deep alarm in a joint statement, condemning the deliberate violence and warning of further sanctions. Meanwhile, tensions escalate between Tehran and Washington. U.S. personnel at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest American facility in the Middle East, received evacuation orders as a precaution. Iran briefly shut its airspace for five hours, forcing reroutes by airlines including Lufthansa, British Airways, and IndiGo.

Iranian officials threatened strikes on U.S. bases across the region, including in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, if attacked. President Donald Trump alternated between vows of firm action and claims that the killings have stopped, while Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged diplomacy over war in a Fox News interview. What began as economic grievances has evolved into direct challenges to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with crowds chanting "Death to the dictator" and some backing exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi.

Amnesty International decried mass unlawful killings on an unprecedented scale, as videos surfaced showing bodies piled in morgues with gunshot wounds and severe trauma, despite a five-day internet blackout. Analysts like Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group warn that repression without addressing root causes merely postpones the next state-society clash.