Peloni: As the world waits to see what will materialize from Trump’s promise to the Iranians that help was coming, the internet access in Iran continues to be jammed. If there are no more killings, and Iran has control over the country, why is it that no one outside of the Iranian curtain of silence is allowed to confirm this so called fact.
Regime confirms that planned execution was halted, no further hangings of protesters planned
Bodies of murdered protestors being loaded onto a truck. Screengrab via X
Amid a flurry of reports suggesting that the broader Middle East is expecting U.S. strikes against the Iranian regime, U.S. President Donald Trump caused general confusion when he suggested that the regime’s bloody crackdown against the protesters had “stopped” on Wednesday evening.
“We’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping – it’s stopped – it’s stopping,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “And there’s no plan for executions, or an execution, or executions – so I’ve been told that on good authority.”
Responding to questions, Trump said that he had received this information from “very important sources on the other side” but added, “I hope it’s true. Who knows?”
These remarks came amid a flurry of media reports on Wednesday evening indicating that the U.S., Iran and Israel were preparing for an imminent escalation.
In the evening, Iran closed its airspace to all flights for roughly five hours, before reopening it. During previous rounds of Iranian attacks against Israel as well as the 12-Day War in June, Iran had shut down its airspace.
Several outlets also reported that the U.S. was moving non-essential military personnel from the Middle East to other bases, and the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait ordered a “temporary halt” for visits from its personnel to military bases in the country.
The U.S. and the UK also drew down personnel from the Al Udeid base in Qatar, where Iran had attacked after the U.S. strikes on its nuclear sites in June.
According to Israel’s i24 News, in the evening, a United Airlines flight from Newark to Israel began takeoff and then turned back as passengers were informed that the flight would be canceled.
Overnight, the US Embassy in Jerusalem published a new security update advising American citizens traveling to Israel to “review any travel plans in case of disruptions, and make appropriate decisions for themselves and their families,” given the “ongoing regional tensions.” The UK also issued a new travel advisory cautioning its citizens to avoid traveling to Israel “all but essential travel.”
Numerous countries on Wednesday also urgently called on their citizens to leave Iran.
In Israel, several towns announced they would open their public bomb shelters as a precaution, while the IDF turned to the public to emphasize that there were no new guidelines for the home front as of yet.
Channel 12 cited officials saying that the IDF would publish an immediate update via the Home Front warning systems for Israelis to stay near protected spaces in case of an American attack on Iran but added that there was no indication of an imminent strike.
Meanwhile, U.S. media reported that the Trump administration continues to weigh its options. NBC reported that Trump wants his action to be “definitive.”
He reportedly told his top national security aides that he wants any military action to be swift and decisive, avoiding a protracted conflict in the region.
However, Trump’s aides reportedly have not yet presented him with an option guaranteeing the quick collapse of the regime. In addition, the U.S. currently has no aircraft carrier strike groups in the region, limiting its military attack options as well its ability to respond to possible Iranian retaliation.
U.S. media reported that the USS Lincoln carrier strike group has been ordered to the Middle East. Its voyage from the South China Sea to the Persian Gulf will take about a week.
“If [Trump] does something, he wants it to be definitive,” an official told NBC.
“All the signals are that a US attack is imminent, but that is also how this administration behaves to keep everyone on their toes. Unpredictability is part of the strategy,” a Western military official told Reuters on Wednesday.
Channel 12 reported that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has kept in close contact with the Trump administration regarding Iran in recent days. He reportedly talked to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday and Monday, with another call set for Wednesday.
The IDF urged the Israeli public in the evening not to spread rumors, stressing that “we are maintaining full monitoring and are prepared for any development. The Chief of Staff has instructed that defensive readiness be reinforced across all units.”
Israeli media cited a senior security official who warned that Israel had made a decision to act decisively when attacked: “If Iran attacks, we will move to bring down the regime.”
The Iranian regime continued its threats against the U.S. and Israel on Wednesday, with the commander of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) declaring that his troops are at “the height of readiness to respond decisively to the miscalculation of the enemy,” while accusing Trump and Netanyahu of being the “murderers of the youth of Iran.”
However, Trump’s claim that the executions of protesters had been stopped was confirmed by Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi late Wednesday.
Speaking to Fox News, he vowed there would not be any “hanging today or tomorrow,” despite judicial officials saying they would expedite the cases of protesters accused of “enmity against God.”
Araghchi claimed that after 10 days of allegedly peaceful demonstrations and three days of violence orchestrated by Israel, calm had been restored in the country. “I can tell you, I’m confident that there is no plan for hanging.”
On Thursday, state media said that Erfan Soltani, a 26-year-old Iranian man arrested on January 10, had not been sentenced to death, contrary to previous statements.
It said he would be charged with “colluding against the country’s internal security and propaganda activities against the regime,” which doesn’t carry a death sentence.
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