Trump expresses gratitude to Iran for cancelling 800 scheduled executions after ‘grave consequences’ warning

Trump on Friday expressed gratitude to the Iranian leadership for refraining from executing what he said would have been hundreds of political prisoners.

Trump his team had warned the Iranian government that continued killings would have “grave consequences”, according to the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at a press briefing on Thursday. She stated that the President is keeping “all options on the table" and added that the situation is being closely monitored.

“I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings, which were to take place yesterday (Over 800 of them), have been cancelled by the leadership of Iran. Thank you!” Trump said on Truth Social.

The tone appeared to pull back from Trump’s recent repeated suggestions that the US might strike Iran militarily if its government carried out mass killings amid the widespread protests that had swept the country but have since quieted.

Over the past two days, several US allies in the Middle East had urged the Trump administration to refrain from taking military action, warning that it could destabilise an already volatile region and disrupt the global economy.

Several Tehran residents contacted by Reuters mentioned the capital had been relatively calm for the past four days. Although drones were seen flying over the city, no significant protests were observed on Thursday or Friday. A resident from a northern city along the Caspian Sea also reported that the streets there appeared quiet. The residents requested anonymity for safety reasons.

A video circulating online, which Reuters confirmed was recorded at a forensic medical center in Tehran, showed dozens of bodies on floors and stretchers, most in bags while some remained uncovered. It could not independently verify when the video was taken.

State-owned Press TV quoted Iran’s police chief as saying that calm had been restored throughout the country.

According to US-based rights group HRANA, the death toll has risen only slightly since Wednesday, now totaling 2,677 people, including 2,478 protesters and 163 individuals identified as government affiliates.