Iran cleric calls for executions of detainees as crackdown intensifies

Amid Iran’s crackdown on December protests, senior hard-line cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami called for the death penalty for detained demonstrators and directly threatened U.S. President Donald Trump, underscoring hard‑line resolve as authorities claim to have quelled unrest. The toll cited by HRANA reached 2,797, and Iran has enforced a nationwide internet blackout as protests have waned. Exiled Iranians and international actors remain engaged, with U.S.-Iran tensions and calls for intervention continuing to shape the response, even as digital access and dissent fade inside the country.