WASHINGTON:
President Donald Trump issued a vague statement Wednesday that he has been told “on good authority” that plans for executions in Iran have stopped, even as Tehran has indicated speedy trials and executions are ahead in its crackdown on protesters.
The US president’s claims, which were made with few details, come as he has told protesting Iranians in recent days that “help is on the way” and that his administration would “act accordingly” to respond to the Iranian government. But Trump has not given any details on how the United States might respond, and it was not clear whether his comments on Wednesday indicated he would wait to act.
“We’ve been told the killing in Iran is going to stop — it’s stopped — it’s going to stop,” Trump said at the White House as he signed orders and legislation. “And there is no plan for executions, or an execution or executions — so I’ve been told on good authority.”
“I hope it’s true,” he said. “Who knows?”
Asked if that meant he didn’t plan to take any action against the Iranian government, Trump said: “We’ll see it and see what the process is. But we got a very good statement from people who are aware of what’s going on.”
The president consulted with his national security team on Tuesday about next steps after telling reporters he believed the killing in Iran was “significant.”
Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and key White House National Security Council officials began meeting last Friday to develop options for Trump, ranging from a diplomatic approach to military strikes.
Iranian security forces’ crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,586, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported.
On Wednesday, Iranian officials signaled that suspects detained in nationwide protests will face swift trials and executions, while the Islamic Republic vowed a “decisive response” if the United States or Israel intervene in the domestic unrest.
The threats emerged as some employees at a key US military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate on Wednesday evening following Trump’s escalated warnings of potential military action over the killing of peaceful protesters.
Mohammad Pakpour, head of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, repeated Iranian claims, without providing evidence, that the United States and Israel instigated the protests and that they are the real killers of protesters and security forces who have died in the unrest, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.
He added that these countries will “receive the answer in due course.”
Earlier Wednesday, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, Iran’s chief justice, said the government must act quickly to punish more than 18,000 people who have been detained through speedy trials and executions. Mohseni-Ejei’s comments about speedy trials and executions were made in a video shared by Iranian state television online.
“If we’re going to do a job, we should do it now. If we’re going to do something, we should do it quickly,” he said. “If it’s late, two months, three months later, it doesn’t have the same effect. If we want to do something, we have to do it quickly.”
The comments stand as a direct challenge to Trump, who warned Iran of executions in an interview with CBS that aired Tuesday. “If they do something like that, we will take very strong action,” Trump said.
