Tipsheet

The Slaughter Continues in Iran, As Nikki Haley Encourages Trump to Make a 'Legacy-Defining Moment'

Dmitri Bolt
Dmitri Bolt  |  February 11, 2026 4:15 PM

The crackdown in Iran is showing no signs of slowing as wounded protesters are being executed in their hospital beds, and sexual violence has become so rampant that some women are begging their families to send them contraceptives in prison. Meanwhile, foreign policy hawks like Nikki Haley are urging the president to 'make this a legacy-defining moment' by refusing to negotiate with the Iranian regime and pushing to topple it instead.

“They were in hospitals, with IV lines or breathing tubes attached to them,” one Iranian source told the NY Post. “And then, when you look closely, you realize they were shot in the head.

“They were executed — given the final shot — inside the hospital,” the person added.

While protesters continue to be killed unofficially, at least 207 people have been officially executed in the past three weeks, according to Iran’s 'No to Execution Tuesdays' campaign, made up of political prisoners held in 56 jails across the country. The group warns that hundreds more face imminent death, as attorneys and medics aiding protesters are increasingly targeted for retaliation by the regime.

“In line with increasing the atmosphere of repression and public intimidation, the executioner regime has proceeded to arrest a number of lawyers, physicians, and medical staff, which indicates its increasing terror of the people’s courageous uprising last January,” the group said in a statement. 

In mid-January, President Trump told Iranians to keep protesting, and that help was on the way. He wrote on Truth Social:

Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price. I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY. MIGA!!! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP

That help never came. 

Some reports indicated that military intervention might not even topple the Iranian regime, and the Trump administration, cautious after prior administrations 'forever wars' in the Middle East, was wary of repeating that mistake. 

This comes as the president prepares to negotiate with the Iranian regime over its nuclear program. Critics are warning him not to repeat past foreign policy mistakes and are urging him to pursue regime change as a more lasting solution.

"You can either have Obama 2.0, where you negotiate another nuclear deal and give them sanction relief and watch this whole thing happen again, or you can actually be strong and nip this in the bud so that we never have to deal with it again," former Republican candidate for president, Nikki Haley, said. "Call it what you want. It's the right thing to do."

"Iran's never going to agree to that, and that's why I think the president needs to take his moment and make this a legacy-defining moment," she added.