Iran signals fast trials and executions for protesters as death toll in crackdown goes over 2,500

The head of Iran’s judiciary signaled Wednesday there would be fast trials and executions ahead for those detained in nationwide protests despite a warning from US President Donald Trump.The comments from Iran’s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei come as activists had warned hangings of those detained could come soon.Already, a bloody security force crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,571, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported.That figure dwarfs the death toll from any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.Trump repeatedly has warned that the United States may take military action over the killing of peaceful protesters, just months after it bombed Iranian nuclear sites during a 12-day war launched by Israel against the Islamic Republic in June.Meanwhile Wednesday, Iran prepared for the mass funeral of 100 security force members killed in the demonstrations as people remained fearful in the streets.Plainclothes security forces still milled around some neighborhoods, though anti-riot police and members of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force appeared to have been sent back to their barracks.“We are very frightened because of these sounds (of gunfire) and protests,” said one mother of two children shopping for fruits and vegetables Wednesday, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.“We have heard many are killed and many are injured.

Now peace has been restored but schools are closed and I’m scared to send my children to school again.”Ahmadreza Tavakoli, 36, told The Associated Press he witnessed one demonstration in Tehran and was shocked by the use of firearms by authorities.“People were out to express themselves and protest, but quickly it turned into a war zone,” Tavakoli said.“The people do not have guns.

Only the security forces have guns.”Mohseni-Ejei made...