Iran updates: Trump holds off on strikes after assurances

The United Nations has called on Iran to stop any planned executions of protesters and to investigate all deaths independently and transparently.

"We call on Iran to halt any executions linked to protest-related cases," Martha Pobee, UN assistant secretary general at the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, said during a UN Security Council meeting. "All deaths should be promptly, independently, and transparently investigated. Those responsible for any violations must be held to account in line with international norms and standards."

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on all parties to exercise the utmost restraint, Pobee added.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) held an emergency meeting on Thursday to address protests in Iran and a crackdown that has resulted in thousands of deaths, according to the group Iran Human Rights.

At the meeting, Iran's Deputy UN Ambassador Gholam Hossein Darzi accused the US of "direct involvement in steering unrest in Iran to violence."

He claimed Washington, with its actions, was "laying the groundwork for political destabilization and military intervention" in the Middle Eastern nation.

The diplomat stressed that Tehran does not seek escalation or confrontation, but would deliver a "decisive, proportionate and lawful response" should there be "any act of aggression — direct or indirect."

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told the UNSC meeting that Washington stands by the "brave people of Iran."

He also reiterated President Donald Trump's stance that "all options are on the table."

"President Trump is a man of ‌action, not endless talk like we see at the United Nations. He has made it ‌clear all options are ⁠on the table to stop the slaughter," Waltz said.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in support of protesters in Iran, where thousands of people have been reported killed in recent days in a deadly clampdown on the anti-regime protests.

But on Thursday, the US leader adopted a wait-and-see posture, saying he had been told ⁠that Iran would stop killing protesters and not carry out executions.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters President Donald Trump was informed that 800 executions of Iranian protesters that had been supposed to take place yesterday "were halted."

Iran's Justice Ministry early on Wednesday had said that trials and executions of protesters would be expedited, only to walk back the statement later in the day.

Trump said Wednesday he had been assured from "very important sources on the other side" that executions would not go ahead, and appeared, for now, to step back from threats of military action against the Iranian regime. 

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing US officials, that Trump had been advised a military strike against Iran would likely not lead to regime collapse, and would risk sparking a "wider conflict." 

Press Secretary Leavitt said Thursday that the US was continuing to monitor the situation in Iran, with the latest reports indicating the protests have begun to slow down.

"The president and his team have communicated to the Iranian regime that if the killing continues, there will be grave consequences," she said. 

The Oslo-based NGO Iran Human Rights estimates more than 3,400 protesters have been killed, making the crackdown on protesters by far the deadliest in the history of the Islamic Republic. 

While ordinary Iranians are still cut off from the world by the longest internet blackout in Iran's history, the regime itself is working hard to spread its narrative of the protests that have gripped the country.

Switzerland has signalled its willingness to mediate in the tensions between the US and Iran.

The Swiss foreign affairs department said a top official spoke with the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and offered a venue "to help de-escalate the current situation."

Switzerland represents the interests of the US in Iran because Washington has not had diplomatic representation there since the US embassy in Tehran was stormed in 1979 during the first days of the Islamic revolution.

Among other things, Switzerland maintains a "Foreign Interests Section" in Tehran, which provides consular protection to US citizens. 

A nationwide internet shutdown in Iran hit the one week mark on Thursday, Internet monitor Netblocks posted on social media.

"Exactly one week ago... Iran fell into digital darkness as authorities imposed a national internet blackout," Netblocks said.

Human rights activists outside of Iran fear the communications blackout is aimed at masking the true scale of a deadly crackdown on protests.

The Oslo-based NGO Iran Human Rights says more than 3,400 demonstrators have been killed, adding that the actual figure is likely much higher as the communication blackout makes it more difficult to access information from inside Iran.

Iranian state media have reported authorities are looking for Starlink satellite dishes, which provide remote internet access and offer the only way for videos and images from inside Iran to reach the outside world.

The United Nations Security Council has called an emergency meeting Thursday to address Iran's deadly protests, following a request from the United States.

President Donald Trump said he's been told that killings in Iran's crackdown on protests are easing. He added there’s no current plan for mass executions, signaling a wait-and-see approach after earlier threats of intervention.

Iran's foreign minister said Tehran has "no plan" to hang protesters. State media reported Thursday that a 26-year-old man arrested in the central city of Karaj will not face the death penalty.

Rights group Hengaw had warned Erfan Soltani could be executed this week, but his family says the order was postponed.

Trump reacted on social media, calling the news "good" and hoping it continues.

The United States imposed sanctions on Iranian security officials for allegedly orchestrating a violent crackdown on peaceful protests.

The Treasury Department sanctioned the secretary of the Supreme Council for National Security, accused of being among the first to call for violence against protesters, as well as commanders from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and law enforcement forces.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the US "stands firmly behind the Iranian people in their call for freedom and justice" and that Treasury "will use every tool to target those behind the regime's tyrannical oppression of human rights."

The US also sanctioned 18 individuals and entities involved in a shadow banking network linked to Iranian financial institutions.

"US Treasury knows that, like rats on a sinking ship, you are frantically wiring funds stolen from Iranian families to banks and financial institutions around the world. Rest assured, we will track them and you," Bessent warned.

The sanctions block access to US assets and businesses, but they are largely symbolic because many of those affected hold no US assets.

A Canadian citizen has died in Iran at the hands ⁠of ‍the Iranian authorities, Canada's Foreign Minister Anita Anand ⁠wrote on X, though she did not provide details on how or when it happened.

"Peaceful protests by the Iranian people — asking that their voices be heard in the face of the Iranian regime's repression and ongoing human rights violations — has led the regime to flagrantly disregard human life," she said.

She added that Canada condemns the Iranian regime's violence and calls for it to end immediately.

The northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein has suspended deportations to Iran, according to an order issued by the state's Social Affairs Minister, Aminata Toure.

The decision cites recent unrest in Iran and the government's crackdown on its population.

"The human rights situation in Iran is catastrophic. Every day, Iranian security forces crack down on demonstrators with extreme harshness," said Toure. Her ministry stated that the deportation ban will initially apply for three months.

The move follows a similar decision on Wednesday by Rhineland-Palatinate, which ordered an immediate halt to deportations of Iranian nationals.

Meanwhile, Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt is rejecting a nationwide halt to deportations to Iran, despite the brutal crackdown by Iranian security forces on protesters.

One Red Crescent staff member died, and five other colleagues were hurt while working last week in northwestern Iran, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said in a statement.

The aid group's parent organization, however, did not say how the staff member died.

"The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is deeply saddened by the killing of Amir Ali Latifi, an Iranian Red Crescent Society staff member, and the wounding of five other IRCS colleagues, who were all in the line of duty in Gilan province, on January 10," the IFRC said.

The IFRC expressed its sincere condolences to his family, loved ones, and all IRCS colleagues. 

It also said it was "deeply concerned about the consequences of the ongoing unrest on the people of Iran," and stressed the "safety and protection of humanitarian personnel," were essential to ensure the, "delivery of impartial, life-saving assistance to people in need."

Turkey opposes military intervention against neighboring Iran and believes that Tehran must resolve its internal problems independently, according to Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

"We are against military intervention in Iran. Iran needs to resolve its own internal, authentic problems itself," Fidan told reporters.

At a press conference in Istanbul, Fidan said Turkey would continue its diplomatic initiatives to help solve the issue. He added that Ankara hopes Iran and the United States can find a solution to the conflict.

In recent days, Fidan held two calls with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araqchi, to stress the need for talks to resolve regional tensions.  

China's foreign minister told his Iranian counterpart that Beijing opposes "the use or threat of force in international relations," as tensions rise over protests in Iran.

The remarks came during a phone call between Wang Yi and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to China's foreign ministry.

The call followed comments by US President Donald Trump considering military intervention against Iran as human rights groups estimate more than 3,400 protesters have been killed over two weeks of anti-government protests.

"The use or threat of force in international relations is opposed, as is imposing one country's will on another," Wang said during the call, according to the ministry.

He added that China was "willing to play a constructive role" in helping find a way forward.

Foreign ministers from the G7 group of major industrialized democracies and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas have voiced alarm over developments in Iran and rejected what they called a deepening, brutal repression of the population.

In a joint statement, they said Iranians have been courageously expressing legitimate demands for a better life, dignity, and freedom since late December.

The eight officials, including German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, said they were concerned by the high number of reported deaths and injuries.

They urged Iranian authorities to show restraint, refrain from violence, and respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression, the right to peaceful assembly, and access to information.

"We condemn the deliberate use of violence and the killing of demonstrators, arbitrary arrests and intimidation tactics by security forces against protesters," the statement said.

The officials said they were "deeply alarmed at the high level of reported deaths and injuries" and condemned "the deliberate use of violence" by Iranian security forces against protesters.

The G7 members "remain prepared to impose additional restrictive measures if Iran continues to crack down on protests and dissent in violation of international human rights obligations," the statement said.

The G7 and the EU said they were prepared to impose additional restrictive measures if Iran continues its crackdown. The G7 comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The UN Security Council is set to meet Thursday afternoon for "a briefing on the situation in Iran," according to a spokesperson for the council's Somali presidency.

The scheduling note said the briefing was requested by the United States.