After a U.S. military strike on Iran appeared all but certain Wednesday, Iranian leaders may have averted a confrontation, at least temporarily, in announcing that scheduled executions of anti-regime protesters would not go forward following public warnings from President Donald Trump.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday that he had been briefed that the “killing in Iran is stopping,” adding that he would be “very upset” if the regime continued its crackdown. The statement marked a notable shift in tone from earlier in the week, when Trump encouraged “Iranian Patriots” to keep protesting and warned that “help is on the way.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denied during a rare Fox News interview on Wednesday that Iran planned to execute protesters and pushed back against the president’s earlier threat of “very strong action” if Iran moved forward with executing protesters.
“Hanging is out of the question,” Araghchi said. “I haven’t heard about that, and there’s no hanging today, tomorrow, or whatever. I can tell you, I’m confident about that. There’s no plan for hanging at all.”
In a Truth Social post Thursday, Trump called Iran’s decision not to sentence protesters to death “good news” and said he hoped it would continue. His remarks followed Iran’s judiciary ruling out execution for 26-year-old Erfan Soltani, whom activists had warned was facing imminent death.
Despite Trump’s Oval Office remarks, tensions spiked sharply on Wednesday after Iran abruptly closed parts of its airspace, triggering speculation that U.S. strikes were imminent. Flight-tracking data showed aircraft diverting around Iranian territory, while the U.S. military began evacuating some personnel out of Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar earlier in the day.
The U.K. simultaneously announced it was evacuating staff from its embassy in Tehran, further fueling speculation that a clash was approaching.
By Thursday, however, Iran reopened its airspace, with flight-tracking services showing commercial traffic resuming over the country.
Mass protests that erupted late last month and peaked last week appear to be coming to an end, with authorities claiming they have reasserted control. The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights organization estimates at least 3,428 protesters have been killed in what it describes as the regime’s deadliest crackdown in decades, and more than 18,000 people have reportedly been detained by the regime.
“We are in full control,” Araghchi told Fox News. “And let’s, you know, hope that wisdom would prevail. And we don’t go for a high level of tension, which could be disastrous for everybody.”
Iranian officials continue to accuse the U.S. and Israel of fueling the unrest.
Behind the scenes, regional allies were reportedly working to prevent the situation from spiraling into war. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman led a last-minute effort to persuade Trump to hold off on military action against Iran, according to a senior Saudi official speaking to AFP. The official said Gulf leaders feared “grave blowbacks in the region” if conflict broke out and urged the president to give Tehran time to demonstrate “good intentions.”
The protesters have had the vocal backing of exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the eldest son of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, toppled during the 1979 revolution. Pahlavi has urged the president in recent weeks to intervene on behalf of the anti-government demonstrators.
My message to President @realDonaldTrump:
Mr. President, you have already forged a legacy as a man of peace. Your words of solidarity have given Iranians the strength to fight for freedom. And while Khamenei and his thugs call for “Death to America,” the Iranian people are… pic.twitter.com/hIcT1R5MkS— Reza Pahlavi (@PahlaviReza) January 11, 2026
“He seems very nice, but I don’t know how he’d play within his own country,” Trump told Reuters on Wednesday. “And we really aren’t up to that point yet.”
“I don’t know whether or not his country would accept his leadership, and certainly if they would, that would be fine with me,” the president added.
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