XPost: alt.activism, sac.politics, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
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   From: someone@outlook.com   
      
   President Trump said in a news briefing Friday that 32,000 people were   
   killed during the recent protests in Iran, a far higher death toll than   
   has previously been reported.   
      
   Mr. Trump, who made the remarks while addressing the Supreme Court's   
   ruling striking down his sweeping tariffs, did not offer a source for   
   the death toll. When asked if he had a message for the people of Iran,   
   Mr. Trump said "the people of Iran are very different than the leaders   
   of Iran" and called it "a very, very, very sad situation."   
      
   Mass anti-government protests roiled Iran in January until a government   
   crackdown crushed the demonstrations. January 8 and 9 are believed to   
   have been the bloodiest, most brutal days since the current government   
   was founded in 1979, but an internet blackout has made it difficult to   
   get information about the full extent of the death toll, injuries and   
   arrests.   
      
   Two sources, including one inside Iran, told CBS News last month that at   
   least 12,000, and possibly as many as 20,000 people were killed   
   throughout Iran in the protests. One Iranian man who was able to get   
   through the blackout and speak to CBS News on a video call described   
   what sounded like a massacre of anti-government protesters in a public   
   square.   
      
   The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency has put the number of   
   arrests at more than 50,000.   
      
   Mr. Trump offered support for the people of Iran throughout the protests   
   and crackdown. Meanwhile, U.S. military forces have been building up in   
   the region as he tries to pressure the Islamic Republic to make a deal   
   on its nuclear program.   
      
   Mr. Trump said Friday that he threatened the Iranian government with a   
   military strike if public executions were conducted. He previously told   
   "CBS Evening News" anchor Tony Dokoupil in January that there would be   
   "very strong actions" against the Iranian regime if such executions   
   occurred.   
      
   "They were going to hang 837 people, and I gave them the word, if you   
   hang one person, even one person, that you're going to be hit right then   
   and there," Mr. Trump said. "I wasn't waiting two weeks and negotiating.   
   And they gave up the hanging. They didn't hang 837, supposedly they   
   didn't hang anybody."   
      
   Mr. Trump also said Friday that the Iranian government "better negotiate   
   a fair deal" on its nuclear program.   
      
   Earlier Friday, the president said that he was considering a limited   
   military strike on the country.   
      
   On Thursday, CBS News reported that Mr. Trump had not yet made a final   
   decision about whether to strike the country, though top national   
   security officials have told the president the military is ready for   
   potential strikes as soon as Saturday. The sources said the timeline for   
   any action is likely to extend beyond this weekend.   
      
   https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-iran-protest-crackdown-death-to   
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