U.S. President Donald Trump has welcomed Iran’s decision to cancel mass executions that were reportedly scheduled to take place earlier this week, calling the move positive news for protesters and human rights.
“I greatly respect the fact that all executions by hanging, which were to take place yesterday (more than 800 of them), have been canceled by Iran’s leadership. Thank you!” Trump wrote on Friday on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Over the past two weeks, Trump had repeatedly threatened military action against Iran in support of protesters, while human rights groups have reported that Iranian security forces have killed thousands of people. However, these figures have not yet been officially confirmed.
Despite the earlier rhetoric, the U.S. president has now shown reluctance to intervene militarily. On Wednesday, Trump stated that he had been informed that the killings in Iran had stopped.
Trump also dismissed claims by Gulf officials suggesting that Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman had played a role in persuading him to abandon a potential strike. He emphasized that Iran’s decision itself was decisive.
“No one convinced me — I convinced myself,” Trump told reporters on Friday as he departed the White House for Florida for the weekend.
“They didn’t hang anyone. They canceled the hangings. That had a major impact.”
