Iran halts up to 800 planned executions after Trump warning, White House says. Photos: X.
Iran has halted the planned executions of as many as 800 following warnings issued by US President Donald Trump to the Islamic Republic against killing anti-government protesters, the White House has said. Speaking at a press briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration had directly conveyed its position to Iranian authorities.
“The president and his team have communicated to the Iranian regime that if the killing continues, there will be consequences. The president [then] received a message… that the killing and the executions will stop,” Leavitt said.
She added that President Donald Trump had been informed that executions scheduled for the previous day did not go ahead.
“The president understands today that 800 executions that were scheduled and supposed to take place yesterday were halted,” she said.
Iran has not publicly announced any plan to carry out executions of protesters.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denied claims that the government planned to execute protesters, telling Fox News there was no such intention.
“There is no plan for hanging,” the foreign minister said during an interview amid Donald Trump’s comments.
Reiterating the point, Araghchi added, “I can tell you, I’m confident that there is no plan for hanging,” stressing that no hanging would take place “today or tomorrow.”
Leavitt said the US administration under Donald Trump continues to closely track developments in Iran and has not ruled out further action.
“The president and his team are closely monitoring the situation and all options remain on the table,” she said.
The White House reiterated that Tehran would face “grave consequences” if the killing of antigovernment protesters were to continue.
Despite the claims of halted executions, as Donald Trump also claimed, Iran’s judiciary earlier on Wednesday signaled that swift trials and executions could be carried out against individuals detained during nationwide protests.
At the same time, antigovernment demonstrations across Tehran have eased since Monday, following large pro-government rallies that drew hundreds of thousands of participants.
Iran also reopened its airspace after a closure lasting nearly five hours, a move that had disrupted flights across the region. The shutdown had been imposed amid concerns of possible military action.
Also Read: Benjamin Netanyahu Asked Donald Trump To ‘Postpone’ Strike On Iran: Reports
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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