Trump Declines To Rule Out US Military Action In Iran

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Iranian authorities have stopped the killing of anti-government protesters and abandoned plans to carry out mass executions, a striking assertion that comes as tensions between Washington and Tehran continue to intensify. Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump told reporters he had received information suggesting Iran’s violent crackdown on demonstrators had eased.

“We’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping. It’s stopped. It’s stopping, and there’s no plan for executions,” Trump said per the New York Post. He cautioned that the information had not yet been independently verified but said it came from credible sources inside Iran.

“So I’ve been told that a good authority — we will find out about it. I’m sure if it happens, we’ll all be very upset… but that’s just gotten to me, the information that the killing has stopped, that the executions have stopped, they’re not going to have an execution,” the president added.

“We have been informed by very important sources on the other side, and they said the killing has stopped and the executions won’t take place.”

“There was supposed to be a lot of executions today, and that the executions won’t take place. And we’re going to find out. I mean, I’ll find out after this, you’ll find out. But we’ve been told on good authority, and I hope it’s true,” he said.

Trump also acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding the situation inside Iran.

“Who knows, right? Who knows? It’s a crazy world. You’ve seen that over the last few days [Iranian officials] said people were shooting at them with guns, and they were shooting back. It’s one of those things, but they told me that there’ll be no executions, and so I hope that’s true.”

The president declined to rule out military action in Iran, saying that Washington is closely monitoring developments.

“We are going to watch and see what the process is — but we were given a very good statement by people that are aware of what’s going on,” he said. It remains unclear how Iranian officials conveyed the message to the Trump administration.

Over the weekend, an Iranian official reportedly reached out to U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, floating the possibility of diplomatic talks. That outreach briefly raised expectations of a potential U.S.-Iran meeting before Trump scrapped the idea as reports emerged that the protest death toll had surpassed 2,000.

Trump’s remarks suggesting a possible de-escalation came even as multiple signs point to heightened regional tension. The U.S. has reportedly reduced personnel in Qatar, and the United Kingdom temporarily closed its embassy in Tehran. There have also been reports of quiet messages sent to Hezbollah, urging restraint in the event of a confrontation involving Iran.

Meanwhile, Iranian state media has sharply escalated its rhetoric against Trump. On Wednesday, a government-run television outlet aired what appeared to depict an assassination scenario, showing an image of Trump bloodied after surviving the 2024 shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, alongside the message: “This time it will not miss the target.”

The Trump administration has maintained a hardline posture toward Tehran while framing its actions as support for the Iranian people rather than a rush toward war. While military options remain on the table, Trump has so far stopped short of announcing direct action, signaling that the White House is waiting to see whether Iran follows through on claims that executions and killings have ceased.