(Oct. 20, 2026 / JNS)
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Iranian authorities had killed at least 75,000 protesters over the past eight months, making the claim during a campaign rally in Kansas.
“In the last eight months, they’ve killed 75,000, minimum, protesters. Can you imagine?” Trump said. “I wonder why they don’t protest more? Well, it’s a little hard when you got machine guns at the end of the street shooting you down.”
Trump also referred to the execution of Iranian wrestler Saleh Mohammadi, 19, who was hanged in March alongside two other men accused of killing police officers during anti-government protests. “They hang them by cranes. They hang them by cranes for all to see,” Trump said. His claim of 75,000 protester deaths has not been independently verified.