Donald Trump says he has been told the ‘killing in Iran is stopping’ – live | Iran
Trump says he’s been told the ‘killing in Iran is stopping’
Speaking from the Oval Office, Donald Trump has said he had been told that killings in Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests were subsiding and that he believed there was currently no plan for executions.
“There’s no plan for executions,” Trump said, referring to the death sentence of 26-year-old protester Erfan Soltani, who – per my last post – Sky News has reported was not executed today. Trump had threatened military action if any executions took place.
“I’m sure if happens, we’ll all be very upset,” the US president added. “But that’s just gotten to me … they’re not going to have an execution.”
Key events
German airline Lufthansa has said it will bypass Iranian and Iraqi airspace “until further notice”, Agence France-Presse is reporting.
The group, which includes Austrian, Brussels Airlines, Discover, Eurowings, Swiss and ITA Airways, said in a statement that it was bypassing the airspace “due to the current situation in the Middle East”.
Earlier we reported that the airline had become the first major carrier to signal a significant pullback from Israel’s skies, telling staff to prepare for an exit from the country and announcing a wide suspension of flights amid growing safety concerns in the region.
Deepa Parent
A cousin of Erfan Soltani has told the Guardian that she received a call from his family telling her that the Iranian prison authorities said he had not been executed yet and that his execution is postponed without giving any further details.
The family told the cousin that they have neither heard from Erfan nor seen him to confirm the claim, she added.
Trump says US will ‘watch and see’ before taking military action in Iran off table
More from the Oval Office earlier, where Donald Trump declined to take military action against Iran off the table, telling reporters that while he had been informed that Iran has “no plan for executions”, his administration will wait and see.
“We’re going to watch and see what the process is,” he said, adding that he’s been given “a very good statement by people that are aware of what’s going on”.
Earlier in the event, Trump said he’d be “very upset” if the regime moved forward with executing protesters, but suggested he’d been told that they are not taking place (see my earlier post).
Lorenzo Tondo
Despite the heightened threats of recent hours, the situation appears to be slowly de-escalating. According to Haaretz, Israeli officials have signalled to their Iranian counterparts that Israel would not carry out a pre-emptive strike provided it was not attacked first.
The message was conveyed through a Russian communication channel, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. Diplomats and regional officials cited by the newspaper said Iran responded in kind, indicating it would also refrain from launching a pre-emptive attack.
It remains unclear whether the wave of protests that has swept Iran in recent weeks has altered either side’s calculations, or whether the informal understanding between the two countries is still holding, the report said.
Iranian foreign minister says government ‘in full control’
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said the government was in full control, as authorities carry out their most severe repression of protests in years.
“After three days of terrorist operation, now there is a calm. We are in full control,” Araghchi told US broadcaster Fox News’ “Special Report” program.
Lucy Hough speaks to journalist Deepa Parent about what she is hearing from those inside Iran in this video from our Today in Focus team:
Donald Trump has been asked questions about the situation in Iran during his signing of executive orders in the White House. My colleague Shrai Popat has further updates in our US politics live blog here:
United Kingdom temporarily closes embassy in Tehran – report
The British embassy in Tehran has been temporarily closed, Politico reports, citing a government spokesperson saying:
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.
Spain advises citizens to leave Iran
Spain is advising its citizens to leave Iran, citing deaths and arrests of protesters. The ministry of foreign affairs advised that citizens follow communications online from the Spanish embassy in Tehran as soon as internet communication was restored.
Trump says he’s been told the ‘killing in Iran is stopping’
Speaking from the Oval Office, Donald Trump has said he had been told that killings in Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests were subsiding and that he believed there was currently no plan for executions.
“There’s no plan for executions,” Trump said, referring to the death sentence of 26-year-old protester Erfan Soltani, who – per my last post – Sky News has reported was not executed today. Trump had threatened military action if any executions took place.
“I’m sure if happens, we’ll all be very upset,” the US president added. “But that’s just gotten to me … they’re not going to have an execution.”
Erfan Soltani was not executed today – report
Erfan Soltani, who has reportedly been facing imminent execution after he was arrested last week, was not executed today, a family member has told Sky News.
They added that Soltani, 26, could still face execution at any time.
Soltani was tried, convicted and sentenced after his arrest in Karaj on Thursday at the peak of the protests before the internet blackout. He is one of the many thousands of protesters that have been arrested.
According to the Sky News report, the Norwegian Hengaw Organization for Human Rights said that he was in the Qezel Hesar prison “and the likelihood of his execution within hours is very high”.
Italy and Poland tell citizens to ‘leave Iran immediately’
Poland has joined the growing list of countries urging its citizens to leave Iran immediately, given the “unstable” situation in the country.
In an urgent warning issued on Wednesday evening, the Polish ministry of foreign affairs said all Poles in the country should “immediately leave Iran”, and more broadly warned about “travels to and through the Persian Gulf and the Middle East.”
Italy, too, strongly renewed its appeal to its citizens to leave Iran because of the security situation in the country, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
There are about 600 Italians in Iran, most of them in the Tehran area, it added.
The United States has issued multiple alerts in recent days urging American citizens – including dual nationals – to leave Iran, suggesting land routes to Turkey or Armenia as international flights face cancellations.
And earlier we reported that the US and UK have evacuated some personnel from a military base in Qatar as Washington mulls launching military action against Iran, which Tehran has warned would trigger retaliatory strikes.
G7 threaten Iran with ‘additional restrictive measures’ over ‘brutal’ crackdown on protests
A short while ago, the G7 foreign ministers issued a new statement on the situation in Iran, stressing that they are “gravely concerned by the developments surrounding the ongoing protests”.
In a statement the group condemned the “deliberate use of violence, the killing of protesters, arbitrary detention and intimidation tactics”.
They said they “strongly oppose the intensification of the Iranian authorities’ brutal repression” and were also “deeply alarmed” at the high level of reported deaths and injuries.
The ministers urge the Iranian authorities to “exercise full restraint, to refrain from violence, and to uphold the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Iran’s citizens”.
The statement adds:
The members of the G7 remain prepared to impose additional restrictive measures if Iran continues to crack down on protests and dissent in violation of international human rights obligations.
US military action in Iran appears increasingly likely – report
Lorenzo Tondo
in Jerusalem
Reuters has reported that Donald Trump appears to have decided on a military strike against Iran. The Guardian has not independently verified the report.
Two European officials told the news agency that US military intervention appeared likely, with one saying it could take place within the next day.
An Israeli official also said it appeared Trump had decided to intervene, although the scope and timing of any strike had yet to be made clear.
Lorenzo Tondo
in Jerusalem
German airline group Lufthansa has become the first major carrier to signal a significant pullback from Israel’s skies, telling staff to prepare for an exit from the country and announcing a wide suspension of flights amid growing safety concerns over, as Israel closely watches the possibility of a US military strike on Iran and any consequent retaliatory attack by Tehran on its territory.
The prospect has pushed Israeli armed forces to heightened readiness in anticipation of potential retaliation from Tehran, according to officials and analysts familiar with the situation. Israeli leaders increasingly regard a US strike as a question of when rather than if, even though no details have emerged about its scope, nature or timing.
Main developments in Iran today
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The US and UK have evacuated personnel from a Qatar military base amid concerns Washington might soon launch military action against Iran, which could trigger retaliatory strikes.
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Trump has warned he could take “very strong” action over Iran’s deadly crackdown on protesters, which has killed thousands, say rights groups. The US president urged Iranians yesterday to “keep protesting”, saying “help is on the way” without elaborating further.
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Tehran sent missiles to the US major base in June after Washington struck its nuclear enrichment sites; an Iranian official seemingly responding to Trump’s threat this morning highlighted that attack.
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The flow of information coming out of Iran is still piecemeal due to the internet blackout – although death toll updates and reports of barbarous state violence have emerged in phone calls.
Hamas agreed on transitional administration governing Gaza
Back to Gaza and Washington announcing the second phase of the peace plan.
Witkoff in his post mentioned the establishment of the transitional administration – a 15-person Palestinan technocratic committee meant to administer post-war Gaza.
Egypt earlier today had announced the panel had been finalised – with all 15 members approved by all Palestinian factions, including Hamas, who endorsed the committee.
In a statement, the factions including Hamas and Islamic Jihad said they had agreed “to support the mediators’ efforts in forming the Palestinian National Transitional Committee to administer the Gaza Strip, while providing the appropriate environment” for it to begin its work.
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