Trump, who in recent days had repeatedly spoken about supporting the Iranian people amid a crackdown on protests, made the remarks during an unexpected announcement at the White House. He said he had received assurances from “very important sources on the other side” that Tehran had stopped the killings and that planned executions would not go ahead.
“They’ve said the killing has stopped and the executions won’t take place. There were supposed to be a lot of executions today, and that the executions won’t take place. We’re going to find out,” Trump said, while noting that the claims had not yet been independently verified by the United States.
Asked in the Oval Office whether US military action was now off the table, Trump said, “We’re going to watch it and see what the process is.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later told US broadcaster Fox News that there would be “no hanging today or tomorrow,” adding that there was no plan for executions. He also accused Israel of orchestrating violence, without presenting evidence.
Separately, a rights group said the execution of 26-year-old Erfan Soltani, who had been arrested during the protests, would not take place as scheduled, citing information from his relatives.
Araghchi said the Iranian government was “in full control” and described the situation as calm following what he termed three days of “terrorist operations.”
Iran also struck a defiant tone over the possibility of US military action. Senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ali Shamkhani, warned that Iran had the will and capability to respond to any attack, referring to last year’s strike on the Al Udeid base in Qatar in retaliation for US attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Concerns over possible escalation continued to unsettle the region. Britain said its embassy in Tehran had been temporarily closed, while the US embassy in Saudi Arabia urged staff to exercise caution. Germany’s airline Lufthansa said it would avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace until further notice.
The protest movement in Iran, which began in late December, is the largest since the Islamic Republic was established in 1979. Iran’s judiciary chief has vowed fast-track trials for detainees, raising fears that capital punishment could be used as a tool of repression.
In Tehran, authorities held funerals for more than 100 security personnel and others killed in the unrest, which officials have described as acts of terror.
