Trump Signals Calm in Iran Protests but Keeps Military Options Open

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United States President Donald Trump said he had been told killings in Iran’s crackdown on protests were easing and that he believed there was no current plan for large-scale executions, adopting a wait-and-see posture after earlier threatening intervention.

After Iran’s foreign minister said Iran had “no plan” to hang people, Iranian state media on Thursday reported a 26-year-old man arrested during protests in the city of Karaj would not be given the death sentence.

Rights organisation Hengaw, which reported earlier this week that Erfan Soltani was due to be executed on Wednesday, said a previously communicated order for his execution had been postponed, citing his relatives.

In a social media post on Thursday, Trump responded to a news report that an Iranian protester was no longer being sentenced to death, writing: “This is good news. Hopefully, it will continue!”

Former President Donald Trump claimed on Wednesday that he received information from “very important sources on the other side” indicating a decrease in violence during the ongoing crackdown in Iran.

He did not rule out potential US military action but said his administration had received a “very good statement” from Iran.

Iranian state media said while Soltani was being charged with colluding against “internal security and propaganda activities against the regime”, the death penalty does not apply to such charges.

His remarks caused a shift in the markets, with oil prices dropping from their recent highs and gold prices retreating from a record peak on Thursday. Trump has consistently threatened to support Iranian protesters, as the nation’s clerical authorities have aggressively suppressed widespread demonstrations since December 28.

Nonetheless, the United States intensified its pressure on Iran by implementing sanctions against five Iranian officials accused of orchestrating the crackdown. Additionally, the U.S. announced it was closely monitoring the financial movements of Iranian leaders’ assets to international banks.

People inside Iran, reached by Reuters news agency on Wednesday and Thursday, said protests appeared to have abated since Monday. Information flows have been hampered by a week-long internet blackout.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday that the government was trying to address some of the economic problems that first spurred the protests, adding that it intended to tackle corruption and foreign exchange rates and that this would improve purchasing power for poorer people.

The group of seven countries has expressed readiness to impose further sanctions on Iran if the government continues its oppressive actions against protesters.

The US treasury department imposed sanctions on the secretary of the Supreme Council for National Security, as well as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and law enforcement forces commanders.

Sanctions were also imposed on Fardis Prison, where the US state department said women have “endured cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment”.

Diplomatic efforts over the past 48 hours involved Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, and Egypt. However, on Thursday, Trump indicated that he had decided against launching an immediate attack, citing a reduction in violence as his reason.

Four Arab states call for de-escalation

Four Arab states have conducted intense diplomacy with the US and Iran this week to prevent a threatened US attack on Iran over its use of force against protesters that they feared would have impacts across the region, a Gulf official said.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Egypt were involved in the diplomacy over 48 hours before Trump signalled on Thursday that he had ultimately decided against an attack for now, saying the killings in Iran were easing.

The four countries had conveyed to the US that any attack would have consequences for the wider region in terms of both security and economics that would ultimately impact the US itself, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

They told Iran any retaliatory attack it launched on US facilities in the Gulf would have consequences for Iran’s relations with other countries in the region, the official said.