Trump says ‘thank you’ to Iran for not hanging protesters

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump thanked Iran’s leadership on Jan 16 after saying Tehran had

called off the executions

of hundreds of protesters arrested in a brutal crackdown.

“I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings, which were to take place yesterday (Over 800 of them), have been cancelled by the leadership of Iran. Thank you!” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social network.

Mr Trump repeatedly threatened military action against Iran over the past two weeks to help protesters, where rights groups say

Iranian forces have killed thousands of people.

But he is now

holding off on intervening

after saying on Jan 14 that he had been told the killings had stopped.

Mr Trump also dismissed comments by Gulf officials on Jan 15 that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman

led efforts to talk him out of an attack,

and said that it was Iran’s actions that swayed him.

“Nobody convinced me – I convinced myself,” Mr Trump told reporters later on Jan 16 as he left the White House to head to Florida for the weekend.

“They didn’t hang anyone. They cancelled the hangings. That had a big impact.” AFP