Iran rejects Trump’s claim on executions as ‘completely false’
Many of the martyrs were bystanders and protesters who were shot dead by organized terrorist elements, it said.
Iran’s Prosecutor General Mohammad Movahedi Azad dismissed President Donald Trump’s claim that he stopped alleged executions in Iran, calling the assertion false and stressing the judiciary’s independence from foreign pressure.
Movahedi Azad said on Friday that the US president had made the claim after witnessing the swift and decisive reaction of the Iranian people at nationwide rallies on January 12.
Trump claimed last Friday that he had prevented the alleged execution of over 800 people in Iran.
“This is a completely false claim; neither such a number exists, nor has the Judiciary taken such a decision,” Mohahedi Azad said.
“The Judiciary is a fully independent institution that does not bow to external pressure,” he said, adding that Iran operates under a clear separation of powers and “does not take orders from foreign actors.”
Movahedi Azad also strongly slammed Trump’s recent threats against the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
He said such language amounted to a “declaration of full-scale war,” warning that any act of aggression would put US interests around the world at risk from supporters of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
He added that bases and interests linked to the US “arrogant regime” and the “child-killing Zionist regime” across the world, particularly in the region, could be considered “legitimate targets” in such a scenario.
He also said that supporters of the Islamic Republic are numerous, including inside the United States.
An Iranian diplomat says the US president provoked violence in Iran while claiming to protect the Iranian people during the recent foreign-backed unrest.
The remarks come amid heightened tensions following foreign-backed unrest in Iran.
Late last month, economic hardships, caused and exacerbated by years of Western sanctions, triggered a wave of peaceful protests among merchants in the Iranian capital of Tehran and other cities.
Authorities recognized the protesters’ demands as legitimate, but the demonstrations were hijacked by rioters backed by American and Israeli leaders, who publicly called for vandalism and disorder.
Officials said that some of the mercenaries were armed, trained, and recruited by US and Israeli spy agencies to incite violence, damage public property, and kill civilians and members of security forces.
In a statement on Wednesday, Iran’s Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs said a total of 3,117 people had lost their lives during the riot.
It further noted that 2,427 of those killed were innocent civilians and security personnel.
Many of the martyrs were bystanders and protesters who were shot dead by organized terrorist elements, it said.
