Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly urged Donald Trump to delay potential strikes on Iran in a tense, last-minute phone call, amid rapidly escalating preparations for a wider regional confrontation, according to reporting by The New York Times.
With diplomatic staff being evacuated from Tehran and airspace being cleared, an attack on Iran appeared imminent before Netanyahu asked Trump to hold off to allow Israel more time to prepare for possible retaliation. Shortly after, Trump publicly claimed he had received information from “very important sources on the other side” that Iran had halted k!llings of dissidents.
“We were told that the k!lling in Iran is stopping, and there’s no plan for executions,” Trump said. “There’s no plan for executions or an execution. I’ve been told that on good authority. We’ll find out about it. I’m sure if it happens, I’ll be very upset.”
On Thursday, January 15, the White House said that roughly 800 executions in Iran had been halted, adding that Trump was “closely monitoring the situation.” During a phone call with NBC News, Trump said: “We saved a lot of lives yesterday.”
Shortly after Trump’s comments, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Fox News that there were no plans for the “hanging” of protesters.
Regional governments, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Egypt, reportedly urged the U.S. administration not to strike Iran, warning that such an action could ignite a wider conflict across the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Iran continues to face widespread anti-government demonstrations and international scrutiny over its response. The Iranian government has cut off internet access nationwide, and two Iranian officials told The New York Times that at least 3,000 people had been killed during the unrest.
Iran Human Rights Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said: “Horrifying eyewitness accounts of protesters being shot dead while trying to flee, the use of military-grade weapons, and the street execution of wounded protesters all point to a planned and widespread crime carried out with the aim of mass k!lling civilians.”
He added: “Ali Khamenei and the individuals and institutions acting under his authority have committed one of the gravest crimes of our time. The international community has a duty to act immediately to prevent the continuation of this k!lling. The people of Iran urgently need help.”
Amid the violence, attention turned to Erfan Soltani, a 26-year-old shopkeeper who was detained during demonstrations and was believed to be at imminent risk of execution. Soltani was thought to be the first protester facing capital punishment since the latest protests began. His family warned that he could be executed at any moment before Iranian officials appeared to reverse course.
Iran’s state-controlled media stated that Soltani’s charges, “colluding against the country’s internal security and propaganda activities against the regime”, did not carry the death penalty if confirmed by a court.