Erfan Soltani, a 26-year-old man arrested in connection with protests in the city of Karaj, is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday, according to the Iranian Kurdish rights group Hengaw. Authorities had told the family that the death sentence was final, the group reported.
The execution is set to take place as Iran reopens its airspace after days of disruption. For the first time in days, Iranians were able to make calls abroad from their mobile phones on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press, though they could not receive calls from outside the country. Texting services and the internet remained suspended, with monitoring firms reporting traffic volumes at a fraction of previous levels.
The US president, Donald Trump, warned that the United States "will take very strong action" against Iran if the regime goes ahead with executions. In a post on Truth Social, he urged "Iranian Patriots" to continue protesting, saying "help is on its way". Trump also announced he was cancelling meetings with Iranian officials "until the senseless killing" stops.
Satellite internet provider Starlink now offers free service in Iran, activists said on Wednesday, providing a potential means of communication amid the blackout. SpaceX, which operates Starlink, has not immediately commented. The internet shutdown has been in place since Thursday night, with only brief windows of connectivity on Friday.
More than 2,500 people have been killed in the protests and over 18,000 arrested, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. Doctors have described overwhelmed hospitals, with one ophthalmologist documenting more than 400 eye injuries from gunshots in a single hospital. The US State Department has advised US citizens to leave Iran immediately, suggesting land routes to Armenia or Türkiye.
