‘Would be great start to negotiations’: POTUS urges Iran to release 8 women facing execution

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged Iran to release eight women who are reportedly facing execution, saying this would be a good start to negotiations planned for this week to end the war.

The US and Iran are expected to hold another round of talks in Islamabad on ending the war later this week. However, clouds of uncertainty loom over the planned negotiations as Tehran has so far refused to send its delegation “under the shadow of threats”.

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“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!!!”, President Trump said on Truth Social.

His tone was polite and not the usual threatening one as he responded to an urgent plea by activist Eyal Yakoby, seeking the international community’s intervention in demanding their release.

According to Yakoby, whose social media post about the women caught Trump’s attention, eight women have been identified as Bita Hemmati, Diana Taherabadi, Mahboubeh Shabani, Ensieh Nejati, Ghazal Ghalandari, Golnaz Naraghi, Venus Hossein Nejad, and Panah Movahedi.

Most of these women were arrested during the anti-government protests in January this year and were sentenced to death. The charges against them range from using explosives, throwing objects such as concrete blocks, to participating in protest gatherings, assisting injured protesters and disrupting national security.

So far, there has been no confirmation on the identities of the eight women or cases against them. Iran is also yet to react to Trump’s request seeking their release.