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U.S. State Department: Nearly 11,000 Iranians detained during protests

13 January 2026 15:55 (UTC +04:00)

"More than 10,600 Iranians have been arrested by the Islamic Republic regime solely for demanding their basic rights," the U.S. Department of State said in a statement in its Persian-language X account, APA reports.

" Among them is 26-year-old Erfan Soltani, whose execution has been scheduled for January 14. This time, the Islamic Republic regime did not even bother with its usual 10-minute sham trial; Erfan was sentenced to death without any legal process or defense attorney. Erfan is the first protester to be sentenced to execution, but he will not be the last; a wave of executions against these protesters has officially begun. The world must not remain silent in the face of the Islamic Republic regime’s criminal actions," the statement reads.

Toghrul Guluzade

Iran protests human rights detentions political prisoners Islamic Republic of Iran U.S. State Department executions Erfan Soltani freedom of expression civil rights international reaction Middle East news