Iran cancels 800 executions after Trump threats, White House claims
Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the threat of military intervention stopped the regime from hanging protesters
Iran has postponed 800 scheduled executions after facing threats of military action from Donald Trump should they proceed, the White House has claimed.
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Speaking after an apparent climbdown from threats of air strikes from the President, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters: “The President and his team have communicated to the Iranian regime that if the killing continues, there will be grave consequences.
"And the President received a message, as he revealed to all of you in the whole world yesterday, that the killing and the executions will stop. And the President understands today that 800 executions that were scheduled and supposed to take place yesterday were halted.
"And so, the President and his team are closely monitoring this situation. And all options remain on the table for the President."
Read More: Protester Erfan Soltani has not been sentenced to death, Iran’s regime says
After suggestions that the first air strikes would begin on Wednesday, Mr Trump indicated that his threats had led to the regime cancelling planned executions.
The first hangings were understood to have been planned for Wednesday, including that of clothes shop owner Erfan Soltani, 26.
Soltani's relatives told reporters that despite his planned hanging, he remained alive and the Iranian regime has rowed back by saying he was never sentenced to death.
After threatening the regime with military action, President Trump claimed on Wednesday that he has it on "good authority" that the killing of protesters in Iran has "stopped".
The President's claims came as experts warned US military intervention in Iran's deadly protests was increasingly likely following Mr Trump's vow for "very strong actions" should executions go ahead.
Iran's top judge had hinted at fast trials and executions for people detained in nationwide protests against the regime, as activists said the death toll had risen to 2,615.
Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei made the comments in a video shared by Iranian state TV.
Echoing Trump's appraisal, Iran's Foreign Minister Araghchi has said that authorities are now back in full control of the country.
He added that "after three days of terrorist operations, there is a calm".
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said the number of dead had climbed to at least 2,615 on Wednesday.
The figure dwarfs the toll from any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Mr Trump said: “We have been notified pretty strongly — but we’ll find out what that all means… We’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping, and it’s stopped.”
He added: “And there’s no plan for executions, or an execution, or executions -- so I’ve been told that on good authority.”
After Mr Trump was informed of the number of deaths, he warned Tehran that he was terminating any negotiations and would "act accordingly".
Later on Wednesday, Mr Trump pulled hundreds of personnel out of a key US military base in Qatar in what officials have called a "precautionary measure", with the UK following.
US personnel at the base were previously advised to evacuate by Wednesday evening, an American official said.
British forces stationed at the base were also evacuated amid fears of potential reprisals should the US strike Iranian targets.
Elsewhere, the British embassy in Tehran was closed amid a pro-regime protest outside its Tehran location.
A UK Government spokesperson confirmed the temporary closure on Wednesday night.
“We have temporarily closed the British Embassy in Tehran, this will now operate remotely. Foreign Office travel advice has now been updated to reflect this consular change,” the spokesperson said.