Donald Trump has shared insights regarding the escalating situation in Iran following the unexpected closure of Iranian airspace to commercial flights on Thursday, January 15, without any official clarification.
Reports suggest that since December, over 18,100 people have been detained and more than 2,400 protesters have lost their lives in Iran amid rallies against the government.
The economic instability has led to a collapse in Iran’s currency, the rial, prompting numerous citizens to demand political changes.
Among those arrested is Erfan Soltani, who received a death sentence for participating in a protest in Fardis, Karaj, on January 8.
Scheduled for execution on Wednesday, January 14, Soltani’s family was unexpectedly informed that his execution had been postponed without any given reason.
In an interview with CBS on Tuesday, January 13, Trump stated that his administration would take “very strong action” if Iran executed “peaceful protestors,” emphasizing, “We don’t want to see what’s happening in Iran happen.”
He further commented: “And you know, if they want to have protests, that’s one thing, when they start killing thousands of people, and now you’re telling me about hanging – we’ll see how that works out for them. It’s not going to work out good.”
More recently, Trump mentioned he had reliable information that the planned executions in Iran had been halted.
“We’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping, and it’s stopped. It’s stopping, and there’s no plan for executions, or an execution,” he stated during a press briefing in the Oval Office.
“There were supposed to be a lot of executions today and that the executions won’t take place – and we’re going to find out.”
The president clarified, however, that the US had not yet confirmed these reports.
When questioned about whether US military action was still being considered, Trump replied: “We’re going to watch it and see what the process is.”
Iran has since reopened its airspace after a closure lasting nearly five hours from late Wednesday into Thursday. This closure forced airlines to reroute, delay, or even cancel certain flights.
Recently, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, issued a stern warning to the US against potential military action.
“In the event of an attack on Iran, both the occupied territory and all American military centres, bases and ships in the region will be our legitimate targets,” he declared in a televised address.