Iran says no death sentences issued so far over mass protests

Iran's judiciary has so far issued no death sentences in connection with the recent mass anti-government protests, a spokesman said, according to state broadcaster IRIB News.

The judiciary spokesman said the process was "rigorous and lengthy" and could take months or years.

He alleged that some of those involved in the protests were "mercenaries" linked to the Israeli and US intelligence agencies Mossad and CIA.

He added that the judiciary was seeking to distinguish between demonstrators who had been misled and those who were the main instigators. Severe punishments would only be imposed once sufficient evidence had been established, he said.

The remarks reflect a standard line by Iranian authorities, who frequently describe protests as being orchestrated from abroad.

Protests erupted across Iran in late December over a deepening economic crisis and soaring inflation, before quickly intensifying into broader anger against the Islamic Republic's authoritarian system.

Iran's security forces moved to crush the unrest, with reports of thousands of deaths.

Tehran's chief prosecutor Ali Salehi on Saturday rejected comments by US President Donald Trump, who had said Iran had halted death sentences against hundreds of detained protesters.

Salehi said the response to the demonstrations would be "decisive, deterring and swift."

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in a speech on Saturday that those responsible would not go unpunished. "We will break the back of the troublemakers," he said.

Trump said on Friday that a US military strike on Iran had not gone ahead in part because Tehran had cancelled the executions of 800 protesters. He provided no source for the claim, and there has been no independent confirmation.