“GIVE IRAN A CHANCE”
Trump, who backed and joined Israel’s 12-day war against Iran in June, had not ruled out new military action against Tehran and made clear he was keeping a close eye on if any protesters were executed.
But with the belligerent rhetoric on all sides appearing to tone down for now, a senior Saudi official told AFP on Thursday that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman led “a long, frantic, diplomatic last-minute effort to convince President Trump to give Iran a chance to show good intention”.
While Washington appeared to have stepped back, the White House said on Thursday that “all options remain on the table for the president”.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday that “the president understands today that 800 executions that were scheduled and supposed to take place yesterday were halted”.
Iran is the most prolific user of capital punishment after China. But there has been no suggestion from Iranian authorities – or rights activists who have repeatedly condemned a recent surge in hangings before the protest wave – that so many people were due to be executed in a single day.
Attention had focused on the fate of a single protester, Erfan Soltani, a 26-year-old who rights activists and Washington said was set to be executed as early as Wednesday.
The Iranian judiciary confirmed Soltani was under arrest but said he had not been sentenced to death and his charges meant he did not risk capital punishment.
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