Trump Says 32,000 People Were Killed in Iran’s Clampdown on Protesters

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Feb. 20 that 32,000 people had been killed in Iran during the regime’s violent clampdown on protesters.

Trump revealed the death toll after a reporter asked him if he had a message to the Iranian people during a Feb. 20 press conference about the Supreme Court’s decision to rule against his tariffs.

“You know, the people of Iran are a lot different than the leaders of Iran, and it’s a very, very, very sad situation,” Trump responded.

“But 32,000 people were killed over a relatively short period of time.”

The country has experienced a surge of unrest since December 2025 as demonstrators rallied against soaring inflation. Some even called to overthrow the regime, which has been in power for 47 years.

Trump noted that his administration intervened when Iran was allegedly planning to hang more than 800 people from a crane in a square two weeks ago.

“I gave them the word, if you hang one person, even one person, that you’re going to be hit right then and there,” he 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. But no, I feel very badly for the people of Iran. They’ve lived like—they’ve lived in hell.”

Trump suggested that he has not ruled out limited strikes on Iran and urged the country to “negotiate a fair deal” regarding Tehran’s nuclear program.

In recent weeks, the United States has moved two aircraft carrier groups towards Iran amid heightened tensions with the country.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi shared on MS Now’s “Morning Joe” that his country was working to finalize a draft deal on the program in “the next two to three days” and send it to Washington.

“I don’t think it takes long, perhaps, in a matter of a week or so, we can start real, serious negotiations on the text and come to a conclusion,” Araghchi said on Feb. 20.

Trump warned during his Board of Peace meeting in Washington on Feb. 19 that if Iran did not make a deal in less than two weeks, the United States may “have to take it a step further.”

The president has repeatedly warned of additional U.S. military action if Tehran does not agree to a deal, which some lawmakers, primarily Democrats, oppose.

Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said this week that they are working on a resolution that would require the president to get congressional approval before ordering U.S. military action against Iran.

“Trump officials say there’s a 90 percent chance of strikes on Iran. He can’t without Congress,” Khanna wrote in an X post on Feb. 18.

Trump increased pressure on Iran in early February with an executive order that imposed a 25 percent tariff on imports from countries that purchased goods from Iran.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.