US President Donald Trump on Friday indicated that Iran’s alleged decision to cancel the planned execution of 800 protesters had convinced him not to attack the Islamic Republic.
Trump was asked by reporters outside the White House if Arab and Israeli officials had convinced him not to strike Iran, as has been reported.
“Nobody convinced me. I convinced myself. You had yesterday scheduled over 800 hangings. They didn’t hang anyone. They canceled the hangings. That had a big impact,” Trump responded.
That appeared to be the closest Trump has come to saying that he had called off a strike against Iran in response to the regime’s deadly crackdown on protesters.
Trump earlier thanked Iran’s leadership for apparently calling off the executions.
“I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings, which were to take place yesterday (over 800 of them), have been cancelled by the leadership of Iran. Thank you!” he wrote on his Truth Social network.
Harsh repression that has left several thousand people dead appears to have succeeded in stifling demonstrations that began on December 28 over Iran’s ailing economy and morphed into protests directly challenging the country’s theocracy.
Earlier in the month, Trump had pledged to strike Iran if it killed protesters.
But on Wednesday, Trump announced that he had been informed by Iran that the killing of protesters had stopped, and on Thursday, the White House claimed that 800 executions planned for Wednesday had been called off.
Iran had not publicized any plans to execute 800 protesters.
Nevertheless, Israel believes that Trump may still take military action against Iran, according to two unsourced Hebrew-language media reports.
Channel 12 news said on Friday the prospect of action was still on the table, while the Kan public broadcaster reported a potential decision by the US president to order strikes would be dependent on the outcome of diplomatic efforts.
According to Kan, Israel believes that if the aim of potential action is to overthrow the Iranian regime, the US does not have sufficient military assets in the region.
Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone call on Iran on Thursday, Axios reported.
The call was the second time the two leaders spoke in two days, the outlet said.
Axios said the White House and the Prime Minister’s Office both declined to comment.
During the first call, Netanyahu reportedly asked Trump to delay potential plans for an American strike on Iran so that Israel could have more time to prepare for any potential retaliation by Tehran.
Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel and US military bases in the Middle East if attacked.
Senior officials from American allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Egypt have also been urging the Trump administration not to attack Iran over the past several days, a Gulf Arab official told the New York Times on Thursday, warning that such a move could trigger a wider regional conflict. Earlier reports indicated that leaders of the four Arab states led a coordinated effort to dissuade Trump from launching a strike.
The Norway-based Iran Human Rights group says it has verified that 3,428 protesters have been killed by security forces in the nationwide demonstrations.
That toll is based on cases IHR has verified itself or via two independent sources. It also includes data received from sources within the health ministry for January 8 to 12, the organization said in a recent report.
The organization warns the toll is likely much higher, but the lack of access to information due to the internet blackout imposed on January 8 has severely hampered verification.
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