President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Iran will no longer execute eight women linked to anti-regime protests after he urged their release a day earlier.
“Very good news! I have just been informed that the eight women protestors who were going to be executed tonight in Iran will no longer be killed,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Four of the women will reportedly be released immediately, while the remaining four will serve one-month prison sentences.
The president thanked Iran for halting the executions, saying, “I very much appreciate that Iran, and its leaders, respected my request.”
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Trump previously said on social media Tuesday that releasing the women could work in Iran’s favor during negotiations scheduled later that day, when he ultimately announced an extension of a two-week ceasefire.
“To the Iranian leaders, who will soon be in negotiations with my representatives: I would greatly appreciate the release of these women,” Trump said Tuesday, responding to an activist’s post on X that included photos of eight unidentified women.
“I am sure that they will respect the fact that you did so. Please do them no harm! Would be a great start to our negotiations!!!”
Iran’s judiciary, however, quickly responded to Trump’s claims, denying that the women ever faced execution, according to Middle East-focused media outlet New Arab.
“Trump was misled once again by fake news,” the judiciary’s official Mizan Online website said. “The women who were claimed to be on the verge of execution, some of them have been released, while others face charges that, if convictions are upheld, would at most result in imprisonment.”
IRAN TO EXECUTE FIRST FEMALE PROTESTER TIED TO ANTI-REGIME UNREST
According to human rights groups, Iran reportedly last week scheduled the execution of a female protester linked to the January uprising, marking Tehran’s first publicly reported death penalty case involving a woman.
She was identified as Bita Hemmati and is among the eight women Trump said will no longer face capital punishment.
Hemmati was originally sentenced in a collective case alongside her husband and neighbors, the National Council of Resistance of Iran said.
On Jan. 8 and Jan. 9, the group allegedly threw objects such as concrete blocks and incendiary materials from rooftops, injured security forces and engaged in anti-regime “propaganda” in an effort to undermine security, according to federal authorities.
One Iranian journalist reported the identities of the other women in a post on X, claiming the defendants are as young as 16 years old.
One victim in particular, identified as Mahboubeh Shabani, 33, was accused of providing assistance to demonstrators injured during January’s uprising, according to the Norway-based Hengaw rights group.
The women’s rulings are among the latest in a series of punishments issued amid a broader government crackdown on dissent.
Rights groups say thousands of protesters may have been killed since demonstrations erupted earlier this year.
