President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he'd been told "on good authority" that plans for executions in Iran have stopped.
Few details accompanied Trump's claims. In recent days, he told protesting Iranians that "help is on the way" and that his administration would "act accordingly" in response to the Iranian government crackdown.
The protests in Iran, which started last month in response to the collapse of the country's currency and a widening economic crisis, have exploded into anti-government demonstrations across that country. The state's security crackdown has resulted in the deaths of 2,586 people, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. This death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
This afternoon, Denver7 spoke with Colorado State Rep. Yara Zokaie, the only Iranian American serving in the state legislature. Her family fled this brutal regime.
Zokaie said she is worried. She said she is no longer able to communicate with family in Iran after the government cut the internet.
"A lot of stress and anxiety. We aren't able to contact our families in Iran," Zokaie said. "Communication's been cut off, so we're getting the trickling of news stories and seeing things escalate, and there is a lot of concern."
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Trump: Iran halts execution threat as violent crackdown on protests persists
She also said she stands firmly with the protesters.
"The way the government is retaliating against innocent people who are peacefully protesting is appalling," Zokaie said. "There are no words. We're worried and hoping things can get back to peaceful."
Zokaie adds that as brutal as the Iranian government response to the demonstrations has been, she does not want the U.S. to intervene militarily.
"I do not want our government to get involved and escalate the violence we're seeing in Iran," she said. "The Iranian people are making their voices heard and it's our job to stand with them and help elevate those voices. Our military involvement will only cause more bloodshed."
On Wednesday, even after the comments by Trump, Iran’s judiciary chief said the government must act quickly to punish more than 18,000 people who have been detained through rapid trials and executions.
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