ISTANBUL, Jan 15 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday denied claims that authorities in his country planned to execute protesters following weeks of unrest, Anadolu Ajansi reported.
"There is no any hanging, today or tomorrow ... I can tell you, I'm confident about that. There is no plan for hanging at all," Araghchi told US-based broadcaster Fox News in an interview.
US President Donald Trump has said Tuesday that Washington would take “very strong action” if Iran carried out executions of protesters.
Araghchi also claimed that calm had been restored in Iran, with the government in "full control."
"We were faced with a vast terrorism operation as the continuation of the 12-day war that was imposed on us by Israelis and Americans.
"So the 13th day of war was Jan 8 ... We were in the middle of the war, and now after three days of a terrorist operation, now there is call," he said
Iranian officials have accused the US and Israel of backing “riots” and “terrorism” amid the protests.
Rejecting reports of over 12,000 deaths during the protests as "baseless" and part of a "misinformation campaign," the minister insisted that the number of fatalities was in the "hundreds."
Asked how many protesters had been killed, Araghchi said an exact figure would be "announced very soon, perhaps tonight" by the Iranian government.
Authorities have so far not released official figures on casualties or detainees.
-- BERNAMA
