Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump announced that he has been informed that killings in Iran have stopped and that planned executions will not take place, citing what he described as reliable information received by the United States.
“We have been notified, and pretty strongly,” Trump told reporters at the White House on January 14 (local time). “We’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping. It’s stopped. It’s stopping, and there’s no plan for executions or execution or executions.”
Trump said the information came shortly before he spoke to the press. He said the news concerned executions that many observers believed were imminent. “Today was going to be the day of execution,” he said. “Another piece of information that I think is very important is that we’ve been told that the executions won’t take place.”
He said the information was received from “very important sources on the other side.” Trump did not identify the sources or provide details on how the information was conveyed. Asked how confident he was that the Iranian authorities would follow through, Trump urged caution. “We’ll find out about it,” he said. “I’m sure if it happens, we’ll all be very upset, including you will be very upset.”
The US President acknowledged uncertainty about the situation. “Who knows? Who knows?” he said. “Crazy world.” Reporters pressed Trump on whether the claim meant military action against Iran was now off the table. He did not rule out any options. “We’re going to watch and see what the process is,” he said. “I wouldn’t be telling you what I’m willing to do.” Asked directly if military action was still a possibility, Trump declined to commit.
“Certainly, I’m not going to give up options,” he said. Responding to questions about reports of clashes and violence inside Iran, he said he had been told that security forces and protesters had exchanged gunfire. “They said people were shooting at them with guns and they were shooting back,” he said.