US President Donald Trump has informed Iran that he does not intend to attack and has asked Tehran to exercise restraint, according to Iran’s envoy to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam.
Moghadam said he received
the information at around 1am Pakistan time on Wednesday, indicating that Trump did not want war and had urged Iran not to target US interests in the region amid rising tensions.
The Iranian envoy also said people in Iran had a legitimate right to protest and claimed the government had engaged in talks with demonstrators, according to Pakistani newspaper Dawn, who first reported the development.
Moghadam alleged that armed groups were involved in violence in Iran, including killings and attacks on mosques, according to the report.
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.
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.
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 an AFP 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 protests in Iran were sparked by economic grievances but evolved rapidly into a nationwide movement that has constituted the greatest threat to the Islamic republic since its inception in 1979.
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 theocratic leaders of using an internet blackout to cover up the brutality of their crackdown.
