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.
