President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged Iran not to bring harm to eight women accused of crimes against the Islamic Republic, tying the appeal to expected ceasefire talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, as his administration tries to keep a fragile truce alive while pressure on Tehran remains in place.
Trump Ties Appeal To Peace Talks
In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote, “To the Iranian leaders, who will soon be in negotiations with my representatives: I would greatly appreciate the release of these women,” adding, “I am sure that they will respect the fact that you did so. Please do them no harm! Would be a great start to our negotiations!!!”
The appeal was later circulated by the official White House account on X. Trump’s post included a screenshot from 23-year-old commentator Eyal Yakoby showing photos of the women he said were sentenced to death.
The women were identified by the New York-based Jewish human rights nonprofit, Lawfare Project, as Bita Hemmati, Ghazal Ghalandari, Golnaz Naraghi, Venus Hossein Nejad, Panah Movahedi, Ensieh Nejati, Mahboubeh Shabani, and Diana Taher Abadi.
Rights Groups Detail Women’s Arrest Cases
Rights groups say Hemmati is believed to be the first woman protester sentenced to death in the current unrest. The National Council of Resistance of Iran has said she was accused of a January uprising in Tehran and later appeared on state television in a confession.
Reports cited by The Telegraph said Hossein Nejad and Peyvand Naeimi were taken from their workplaces and forced into televised confessions over protests they did not attend. Human rights organization Femena identified Naraghi as a 37-year-old emergency medicine specialist in Tehran, while Hengaw said Shabani was arrested in February after allegedly helping injured protesters.
Separate social media and activist reports identified Nejati as the mother of a 5-year-old and said Taher Abadi, 16, and Movahedi were teenagers.
Iran Rejects Claims Amid Truce Dispute
Iran pushed back on Trump’s claims. A report by AFP quoted judiciary officials as saying reports the women faced imminent execution were “fake news,” and AP reported earlier this year that Tehran also rejected Trump’s claim that he had stopped the hanging of 800 protesters in January. Prosecutor-General Mohammad Movahedi Azad said at the time, “The judiciary is an independent institution and does not take orders from foreigners.”
Trump’s appeal came as he said he had extended the ceasefire until peace talks end, a reversal from his earlier resistance to prolonging it, while insisting the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports would continue. Iran’s foreign minister has called that blockade an “act of war,” and a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday that talks could happen only if Washington drops its pressure campaign.
Photo: Below the Sky via Shutterstock
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