President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he had received word that the “killing in Iran is stopping” amid threats that the U.S. military could intervene against the Iranian regime’s crackdown on nationwide protests.
During a press conference in the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon, Trump told reporters that he had been informed that the mass murder of protesters in Iran was “stopping” and that the expected executions by the Iranian regime were not going to take place.
“We have been notified and pretty strongly, but we’ll find out what that all means. But, we’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping,” Trump said. “And there’s no plan for executions or an execution… so I’ve been told that on good authority. We’ll find out about it. I’m sure if [it] happens, we’ll all be very upset.”
READ MORE: Video: ‘Help is on its way,’ Trump tells Iranian protesters amid gov’t crackdown
“They’re not going to have an execution, which a lot of people were talking about for the last couple of days,” the president added. “Today was going to be the day of execution.”
In a Thursday statement on X, formerly Twitter, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) appeared to disagree with the president’s assessment of the situation in Iran.
“Every indication that I’ve seen says that the Iranian regime’s killing of protestors is still very much in full swing,” Graham tweeted. “The death toll is mounting by the hour. Hoping that help is on the way.”
The Human Rights Activists News Agency reported on Wednesday that 617 protests have taken place in 187 cities across Iran over the past 18 days. The agency claimed that 18,470 people have been arrested by the Iranian regime and that 2,615 people have died since the start of the nationwide protests. According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, 2,435 of the individuals killed have been protesters, including 13 children under the age of 18.
In a Truth Social statement on Tuesday, Trump encouraged Iranian protesters, saying, “Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price. I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY.”
According to Fox News, Iran appeared to reopen its airspace on Thursday following a sudden closure of its airspace that occurred for several hours overnight. Safe Airspace’s website reported that the sudden closure lasted for roughly five hours.
