U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he had received assurances that killings linked to Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests had stopped and that there were no plans to carry out executions.
“I’ve been told that on good authority,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “The killing in Iran is stopping, is stopped … and there’s no plan for executions.”
He added that Washington would closely monitor developments. “We’ll find out about it. I’m sure if it happens, we’ll be very upset,” he said.
Trump’s remarks came amid heightened tensions over Iran, where rights groups say thousands of people have been killed during more than two weeks of unrest. Iran has not confirmed casualty figures.
U.S. officials, cited by the New York Times, said the Pentagon has presented Trump with a range of military options related to Iran, including potential strikes on nuclear facilities.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Israel of trying to “drag the United States into fighting wars on its behalf,” according to Iranian state media.
Meanwhile, Iran’s near-total telecommunications blackout entered its seventh day, leaving much of the country cut off from the outside world, internet monitoring group NetBlocks said.
The United Nations special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, Mai Sato, criticised Iranian authorities for threatening protesters with the death penalty, saying such actions violate international law.
Concerns over security prompted Italy and Poland to urge their citizens to leave Iran. Poland’s foreign ministry advised against all travel to the country and called on Polish nationals there to depart immediately, citing an “unstable” situation. Italy reiterated its call for Italian citizens to leave Iran if they are able to do so.
