Iran judicial chief says quick justice for protesters is necessary, even as Trump military threat looms

The death toll from unrest in Iran climbed to almost 2,600, a rights group said on Wednesday, as Tehran stepped up diplomatic contacts with U.S.-allies in the region over a crisis that has drawn threats of intervention from U.S. President Donald Trump.

According to an Israeli assessment, Trump has decided to intervene, but the scope and ​timing of this action remains unclear, an Israeli official said.

A second Israeli source, a government official, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet was briefed late on Tuesday about the chances of regime collapse and the chances of U.S. intervention in Iran, an arch-foe with which it fought a 12-day war last year.

Meanwhile, some personnel were advised to leave ​the U.S. military's Al Udeid Air Base ​in Qatar by Wednesday evening, three ⁠diplomats told ‍Reuters.

The ⁠U.S. ​embassy in Doha had no immediate comment.

Al ⁠Udeid is the Middle East's ‍largest U.S. base, housing around 10,000 troops. Ahead ⁠of the ​U.S. air strikes ​on Iran in June, ‍some personnel were moved off ‍U.S. ⁠bases in the Middle East.

In an interview with CBS News on Tuesday, Trump vowed "very strong action" if Iran started hanging protesters, but didn't elaborate. "If they hang them, ​you're going to see some things," he said. He also urged Iranians on Tuesday to keep protesting and take over institutions, declaring "help is on the way" but without giving details.

Trump has said military action is among the options he is weighing to punish Iran over the crackdown. Iran has vowed to retaliate in the event of military action.

The U.S. State Department earlier this week urged American citizens to leave Iran now, including by land through Turkey or Armenia.

On Tuesday, Global Affairs Canada strengthened its travel advisory for Iran, urging Canadians to leave Iran now if they can do so safely. The advisory also added more information about overland crossings to Armenia and Turkey.

In response to Trump's social media post on Tuesday indicating that "help is on the way," Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said the U.S. president was inciting violence, threatening the country’s sovereignty and security, and seeking to destabilize the government.

The protests, which began on Dec. 28 in response to soaring inflation, have spiralled into one of the biggest challenges to Iran's clerical establishment since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Despite Trump's tough talk, just two weeks after he was buoyed by the quick-strike, controversial military operation that seized Venezuelan autocrat Nicolás Maduro, Iran's chief justice said that speed in judging and penalizing those "who beheaded or burned people" was critical to ensuring such events do not happen again. Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei made the comments about trials and executions in a video, visiting a Tehran prison where arrested protesters are being held.

Hengaw, an Iranian Kurdish rights group, has reported that a 26-year-old man, Erfan Soltani, arrested in connection with protests in the city of Karaj, was to be executed on Wednesday.