Iran vowed on Thursday to defend itself against any foreign threat, after US President Donald Trump said he would ‘watch it and see’ about military action over the crackdown on protesters.
Iran’s judiciary said a protester who the United States and rights groups feared faced imminent execution would not be sentenced to death, after Trump had warned of strikes should people arrested for demonstrating be killed.
Rights groups say the crackdown by authorities, who exercise zero tolerance for dissent, has left at least 3,428 people dead. They also accuse the country’s leaders of using an Internet blackout to cover up crackdown.
In telephone talks on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Saudi Arabian counterpart Faisal bin Farhan of the importance of “global condemnation of foreign interference in the internal affairs of regional countries”.
The developments came hours ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on Iran later on Thursday, which was requested by the US.
On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia informed Iran it would not allow its airspace or territory to be used to attack it, two sources close to the kingdom’s government said.
Up until Wednesday, the United States was threatening military action against Iran should it carry out the death penalty against people arrested over the protests.
Erfan Soltani
In an announcement at the White House, Trump said he had now received assurances from “very important sources on the other side” that executions would not go ahead.
“They’ve said the killing has stopped and the executions won’t take place – 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,” Trump said.
Asked by a reporter in the Oval Office if US military action was now off the table, Trump replied: “We’re going to watch it and see what the process is.”
The comments sent oil prices plunging on Thursday, as concerns eased of a looming supply shock in energy markets. Iran makes up around three per cent of global oil production.
All eyes were on protester Erfan Soltani, 26, in prison in Karaj outside Tehran since his arrest, who is facing charges of propaganda against Iran’s system and acting against national security.
On Thursday, the Iranian judiciary said Soltani has “not been sentenced to death” and if he is convicted, “the punishment, according to the law, will be imprisonment, as the death penalty does not exist for such charges”.
State media reported hundreds of arrests and the detention of a foreign national for espionage, without giving details.
Araghchi said the Iranian government was “in full control” and reported an atmosphere of “calm” after what he called three days of “terrorist operation”.
Iran also struck a defiant tone about responding to any US attack, as Washington appeared to draw down staff at a base in Qatar that Tehran targeted in a strike last year.
Iran targeted the Al Udeid base in June in retaliation for US strikes on its nuclear facilities.
Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned Trump the strike showed “Iran’s will and capability to respond to any attack”.
Fears of possible US military action continued to rile the region, and Türkiye on Thursday said it opposed a military operation against Iran. – AFP
