AFP- Donald Trump on Wednesday said Iran had halted alleged plans to execute eight women arrested over anti-government protests, after he urged Tehran to release them to help peace negotiations.
Iran's judiciary, however, described the US president's claims as "false news," saying they had never faced the death penalty in the first place.
“I very much appreciate that Iran, and its leaders, respected my request, as President of the United States, and terminated the planned execution,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
Rights groups have said at least one woman arrested over the January protests has been sentenced to death while at least one more is facing charges that carry the death penalty and could see her executed.
Trump had earlier said on social media that the women’s release could work in Iran’s favor in negotiations, reposting an activist’s claim that eight women were facing death by hanging.
That claim did not give names but included photographs of the women.
After Trump's comment, the Iranian judiciary's Mizan Online website posted on X: "Despite the claim from last night being exposed as a lie, Trump, just minutes ago in another post, claimed that the death sentences of eight protesting women who were supposed to be executed tonight in Iran have been cancelled, and thanked Iran!"
"Trump's empty hand in the field has led him to fabricate achievements from false news," it said.
The fate of US-Iran talks hosted by Pakistan remains unclear. A previous round collapsed with Tehran accusing the United States of making excessive demands over the Strait of Hormuz and its nuclear program.
Rights groups accuse the Islamic republic of using capital punishment to instill fear throughout society and stepping up executions of political prisoners against the background of the war against the United States and Israel.
