Iran Responds to Trump Executions Claim as US Sends Warships to Middle East

Iran’s top prosecutor rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that Tehran had halted plans to execute 800 protesters, calling it “completely false”.

It comes as the U.S. sends military assets to the Middle East, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other warships, in what Trump described as an “armada” that could strike Iran over its deadly crackdown on protests.

"This claim is completely false; no such number exists, nor has the judiciary made any such decision," Mohammad Movahedi said, according to Mizan, the news agency of Iran’s judiciary.

Trump warned the regime in Tehran during the mass demonstrations that he would attack if they killed protesters, as the country’s clerical leadership faced the biggest test of its grip on power since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

He told protesters that “help is on its way” as he weighed launching strikes. But the U.S. leader later said Iran had stopped the killings and canceled plans to rush through executions of detained protesters following his demands.

More than 5,000 people died during the unrest, mostly protesters killed by the Iranian regime’s security forces, according to the latest figures from the Human Rights Activists News Agency-a toll likely to rise further. It put the number of arrests at 26,852 so far.

Trump said Thursday aboard Air Force One that the U.S. is moving the ships toward Iran "just in case" he wants to take action.

"We have a massive fleet heading in that direction and maybe we won't have to use it," Trump said.

This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.

This article uses reporting by The Associated Press.

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This story was originally published January 23, 2026 at 2:12 AM.