Iran’s nationwide protest movement appeared to slow on Thursday under the weight of a brutal crackdown that has left thousands dead and tens of thousands in prison, according to activists. In Tehran, residents reported relative calm as gunfire faded and fires were extinguished, contrasting sharply with previous weeks of large confrontations.
The slowdown came two days after US President Donald Trump urged Iranians to “keep protesting” and promised help, but on Wednesday night Trump appeared to walk back from military intervention, telling reporters that Iranian authorities were halting executions. The White House later claimed that 800 executions scheduled in Iran had been halted, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying Trump warned of “grave consequences” if killings continued.
At a UN Security Council meeting, the US ambassador Mike Waltz said “all options are on the table to stop the slaughter”, while Iran’s deputy ambassador Hossein Darzi accused the US of “direct involvement in steering unrest in Iran to violence”. Russia defended Iran, and France and Britain called for respect of human rights. At least 2,637 people have been killed, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
Trump reviewed options to strike Iran but was unconvinced any single action would lead to decisive change, having previously pulled off feints. Iranian authorities toned down rhetoric, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urging negotiations and state media reporting that the first protester sentenced to death, 26-year-old Erfan Soltani, would not be executed.
