Trump announces Iran is no longer killing anti-government protesters

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WASHINGTON − President Donald Trumpannounced that Iran had stopped killing anti-government protesters after he threatened to take action if the killings continued.

"We’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping and there’s no plans for executions," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

Trump’s announcement came after days of escalating tension between the United States and Iran.

Iranian leaders have accused the U.S. and Israel of fomenting the demonstrations, which began in late December over soaring prices and the abrupt collapse of Iran’s national currency. But Trump threatened to intervene, drawing a defiant response from the Iranian regime's top leaders and further ratcheting up tension between the U.S. and the Middle Eastern country.

Iranians began protesting in December as their currency, the rial, suddenly crashed, with inflation surpassing 40%. The economic pressure reignited many longstanding grievances with the Islamic Republic's clerical establishment, marking the most expansive civil unrest in the country in several years.

An estimated 2,000 to 3,000 people have been killed in nationwide protests in Iran, a senior U.S. official told USA TODAY.

Human rights and watchdog organizations condemned growing violence against demonstrators by government forces. The United Nations' independent fact-finding mission in Iran said in a Jan. 10 statement it received reports that security forces were ordered to carry out a "decisive" response without restraint on the anti-government protesters.

Trump said he would be "very upset" if any executions happen. Hengaw, an Iranian Kurdish rights group, had reported that a 26-year-old man, Erfan Soltani, arrested in connection with protests, was set to be executed Jan. 14. But Trump had vowed in an interview with CBS his administration would take "very strong action" if the Iranian regime begins hanging anti-government protesters.

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"We have been informed by very important sources on the other side and they’ve said the killings have stopped and the executions won’t take place," Trump said. "There was supposed to a lot of executions today."

Trump was asked if military action is off the table against Iran. He said he would continue to monitor the situation.

"We’re going to watch it and see what the process is," Trump said.

Trump has warned on Jan. 2 that the U.S. would come to the rescue "if Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom."

A week later, Trump warned Tehran in comments to reporters, "You better not start shooting because we'll start shooting too." And on Jan. 10, the president said on social media: "Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!"

The Trump administration had urged U.S. citizens to leave Iran immediately amid threats of military force and the Pentagon reportedly withdrew some personnel from the its largest Middle East air base, in Qatar.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned Washington against "a miscalculation" in an interview the following day.

"Let us be clear: in the case of an attack on Iran, the occupied territories (Israel) as well as all U.S. bases and ships will be our legitimate target," Qalibaf said, according to Reuters.