The White House gave assurances on Thursday that Iran had abandoned 800 executions of protesters that had been planned for the previous day, after US allies in the Gulf region intervened with US President Donald Trump to dissuade him from launching an attack, writes AFP.
“All options remain on the table for the American side,” added White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, adding that the American leader had warned Tehran that there would be “serious consequences” if the bloody crackdown on the protest movement continued.
The US government had previously announced economic sanctions against officials accused of coordinating the crackdown, including Ali Larijani, who heads Iran's top security agency.
Since the protests erupted on December 28, which then spread across Iran, Donald Trump has increased his threats to intervene against Tehran, but on Wednesday said he had been informed by “very important” and “reliable” sources that “the killing has stopped” in Iran and that the planned executions “will not take place.”
Facing one of the biggest challenges since its proclamation in 1979, the Islamic Republic has been denounced by human rights defenders for a crackdown that has so far left thousands dead in a country where the internet has been blacked out for a week.
On Thursday, life appeared to be returning to normal in Tehran, according to an AFP journalist on the scene. There have been no large-scale demonstrations in the country for several days.
“Last Minute Efforts”
As the possibility of US strikes was closely watched in the Middle East, a senior Saudi official told Agence France-Presse on Thursday that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman had warned Donald Trump of the risk of “serious repercussions for the region”.
The three countries “made intense last-minute diplomatic efforts to persuade President Trump to give Iran a chance to demonstrate its good intentions,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Communication continues to strengthen the trust gained and the current positive climate,” he added.
The “last minute” rescue intervention for the regime in Tehran. Who convinced Trump to abandon the military offensive
The White House also confirmed that the US president spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who, according to The New York Times, asked him not to intervene militarily in Iran.
Switzerland, which represents US interests in Iran, said it had offered its “good offices for a de-escalation” in a telephone conversation with Ali Larijani on Wednesday.
The head of Iranian diplomacy, Abbas Araqchi, announced that in a telephone conversation with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Fayçal ben Farhane, he stressed “the importance of international condemnation of any foreign interference” in the region.
And China announced on Thursday that it opposes the “use of force in international relations” in Iran, ahead of a United Nations Security Council meeting on the situation in Iran, called at Washington's request.
In a sign of some de-escalation, the alert level at the US Al-Udeid base in Qatar, the most important in the Middle East, was lowered and on Thursday the return of some personnel, whose departure had been announced by Qatar the day before, two diplomatic sources told AFP.
“Forced Confessions”
The United States and NGOs were particularly alarmed by the risk of execution of Erfan Soltani, a 26-year-old protester arrested on Saturday.
Iran, which widely carries out the death penalty by hanging, denied on Thursday that he faces the death penalty for his charges – gatherings against national security and propaganda against the system.
Minister Araqchi had already declared, on Wednesday, for the American channel Fox News, that “there will be no hanging” in the next two days.
According to the latest tally by Iran Human Rights (IHR), at least 3,428 demonstrators have been killed since the beginning of the protest movements. The Norway-based NGO also reported more than 10,000 arrests.
Canada announced the death of a citizen “at the hands of Iranian authorities” during a demonstration on Thursday.
In a video that appears to have been filmed on Wednesday, people attending a worker's funeral chant “Death to Khamenei”. AFP was able to confirm the location of the shooting, in Abdanan (west of the country), but not the date.
After the huge wave of demonstrations at the end of last week, the authorities organized a “national resistance march” and funerals for about a hundred members of the security forces in Tehran on Wednesday, attended by thousands of Iranians.
According to Araqchi, “calm reigns” in the country at present, where the authorities have “total control” of the situation.
The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which tracks the protests, recorded “no demonstrations” on Wednesday.
In Tehran, the judiciary promised “swift” and “public” trials for arrested protesters.
State television broadcast the interrogations of the accused, led by the head of the judiciary, which raised fears among human rights defenders about staged “coerced confessions”.
Iranian authorities are not providing an official toll at this stage, as the identification of victims is still ongoing, according to them.
