Iran’s top prosecutor on Friday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated claim that Iran halted executions of 800 detained protesters, saying the allegation was “completely false.”
Mohammad Movahedi, Iran’s top prosecutor, made the denial in remarks carried by the judiciary’s Mizan news agency. He said, “This claim is completely false; no such number exists, nor has the judiciary made any such decision,” and added that Iran does not take instructions from foreign powers, citing the separation of powers among institutions.
The AP reported that Trump has repeatedly said Iran stopped the execution of 800 people detained during the nationwide protests, without detailing where he obtained the figure. The AP said Movahedi’s comments suggested Iran’s Foreign Ministry, led by Abbas Araghchi, may have provided the number to Trump, noting that Araghchi has had a direct line to U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and has conducted multiple rounds of negotiations with him over Iran’s nuclear program.
Later Friday, a White House official disputed Movahedi’s assertion and said planned executions were called off as a result of Trump’s warnings. The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Trump was watching the situation closely and that “all options are on the table if the regime executes protesters,” but did not provide evidence or further details backing Trump’s claim.
Iranian judiciary officials have described some detainees as “mohareb” — “enemies of God” — a charge that carries the death penalty. The AP said the designation was used in 1988 alongside other charges to carry out mass executions that reportedly killed at least 5,000 people.
International concern over detainees’ potential fates continued alongside the verbal exchange between the U.S. and Iran. At a U.N. Human Rights Council special session on Iran in Geneva on Friday, Volker Türk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, expressed concern about “contradictory statements from the Iranian authorities about whether those detained in connection with the protests may be executed.” He also said Iran “remains among the top executioner states in the world,” adding that at least 1,500 people were reportedly executed last year, a 50% increase over 2024.
As the statements continued, activists said the crackdown has produced a death toll that is far higher than Iran’s initial figure. The AP said activists reported the overall death toll rose to at least 5,032, while warning that many more people may be dead amid information gaps created by an internet blackout. Activists said Iran’s most comprehensive internet blackout in history had crossed the two-week mark, complicating efforts to confirm information.
The AP reported that the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said more than 4,700 of the dead were demonstrators and that more than 27,600 people had been detained. The AP said it could not independently assess the death toll because authorities cut access to the internet and blocked international calls into the country.
Iran’s government, meanwhile, offered its first death toll on Wednesday, saying 3,117 people were killed, and that 2,427 of the dead were civilians and security forces among demonstrations that began Dec. 28, with the rest described as “terrorists.” The AP said it has been unable to verify the government’s figure independently for similar reasons, including limits on communications during the unrest.
The conflict also played out in official and diplomatic exchanges. The AP said Iran’s foreign ministry criticized a European Parliament resolution adopted Thursday that condemned “repression and mass murders being perpetrated by the Iranian regime against protesters in Iran.” In a statement issued Friday, the ministry said it expressed “its strong revulsion at the insulting assertions,” and warned that any illegal or interventionist decision or position concerning Iran’s armed forces would be met with reciprocal action, with responsibility for consequences resting with those who initiate such actions.
The AP further reported that tensions between Washington and Tehran remained high as an American aircraft carrier group moved closer to the Middle East. The AP said the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and associated warships traveled with it from the South China Sea, and that a U.S. Navy official speaking on condition of anonymity said Thursday the Lincoln strike group was in the Indian Ocean.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday that the ships were being moved toward Iran “just in case” he wanted to take action, adding, “We have a massive fleet heading in that direction and maybe we won’t have to use it.” The AP also reported that the U.K. Defense Ministry said its joint Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet squadron with Qatar, 12 Squadron, deployed to the Persian Gulf for defensive purposes, noting regional tensions.