Jan. 15 (UPI) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday night said Iran has called off scheduled executions of detained protesters and that the killing of protesters in the streets was stopping, though he continued to consider taking military action against the Islamic regime.
“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,” he told reporters during a press conference at the White House.
“But that’s just gotten to me from information that the killing has stopped, that the executions have stopped.”
For 18 days, Iranians have taken to the streets in protest against the nation’s economic crisis, during which they have been met by violent opposition from security forces. The regime has submerged the country in an Internet blackout for nearly seven days, according to the NetBlocks Internet observatory. Human rights activists worry the blackout is being used to shield the world from the regime’s crimes.
Human rights groups say the death toll is in the thousands.
According to Iran watchdog Human Rights Activists News Agency, there have been 2,615 confirmed deaths and at least 18,470 people arrested amid the two weeks of protests that have been recorded in 187 cities.
The Oslo-based NGO Iran Human Rights, citing sources within Iran’s Ministries of Health and Education, states that between Jan. 8 and Monday alone, at least 3,379 protesters were killed.
Trump’s comments come amid heightened worry that detained protesters could to be executed.
IHRNGO Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said in a statement that Iran’s judiciary was threatening protesters with “large-scale executions.”
“The international community must take these threats extremely seriously, because officials of the Islamic Republic committed similar crimes in the 1980s in order to hold onto power,” he warned, referring to the 1988 massacre of at least 5,000 political prisoners. Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi is known as the Butcher of Tehran over his alleged role as a member of the death commission during the massacre.
“If the international community does not act in time, thousands more will be at risk of execution,” Amiry-Moghaddam said.
Trump has for days warned of taking military action against Iran, and on Wednesday said “the executions won’t take place.”
Asked if military action against Iran was being shelved, Trump replied: “We’re going to watch it and see what the process is, but we were given a very good statement by people that are aware of what’s going on.”
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