US President Trump appears to have ruled out any military intervention in Iran, at least in the short term, after receiving assurances that the “killing has stopped” amid mass anti-government protests in the country.
An economic collapse in late December sparked a wave of demonstrations across all of Iran’s 31 provinces, with hundreds of thousands taking to the streets to demand the end of the Khamenei regime.
Security forces have responded brutally, with the official death toll now over 600.
Iranian human rights groups based overseas, though, believe the true figure may be closer to 2,000, while some reports suggest it could top 5,000.
As the unrest continued into its third week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was “leaning towards” a new round of strikes, though some US officials had expressed “concerns that US military strikes could fuel the regime’s propaganda that the US and Israel are secretly orchestrating the protests”.
Iran had also threatened that, should the US attack, American military bases in the region, as well as Israel, would be considered “legitimate targets” for retaliation.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told a conference of foreign ambassadors this week: “The Islamic Republic of Iran is not seeking war but is fully prepared for war.
"We are also ready for negotiations but these negotiations should be fair, with equal rights and based on mutual respect.”
Yet Trump promised “strong action” if the regime followed through on its reported threat to hang arrested protestors, telling the Iranian people: “Help is on its way.”
Now, though, it appears that there has been a degree of de-escalation between the two sides.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday: “We’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping – it’s stopped – it’s stopping. And there’s no plan for executions, or an execution, or execution – so I’ve been told that on good authority.
"There were supposed to be a lot of executions today. The executions won’t take place – and we’re going to find out.”
Per the New York Times, senior military officials described the president’s comments as a diplomatic “off-ramp”, with the Pentagon reportedly preparing to stand down units on standby.
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