LONDON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he had been told the “killing” in Iran would stop and that expected executions of arrested protesters would not take place, as activists say thousands of people have died during more than two weeks of protests.
Announcing the update during an Oval Office event on Wednesday, Trump said the information came from “very important sources on the other side.”
“We’ve been told that from a good source, and I hope it’s true. Who knows, right?” He added.
When asked if this meant that military action was now off the table against Iran, Trump replied: “We will watch and see what the process is.”
More than 2,500 people have died during nationwide protests in Iran over the past 17 days, activists said on Wednesday. Trump expressed his support for the demonstrators and hinted at possible American intervention against the government in Tehran over the killings.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency (Hrana) said it had verified a total of 2,571 deaths – and was reviewing reports of a further 779 deaths – since the protests began on December 28.
Hrana said confirmed deaths include 2,403 adult protesters, 12 protesters under the age of 18, 147 government employees and nine civilian non-demonstrators.
Another 1,134 protesters were seriously injured, and at least 18,137 people were arrested, Hrana News Agency said.
HRANA data is based on the work of activists inside and outside the country. ABC News cannot independently verify these numbers. The Iranian government has not provided any civilian death toll in relation to the ongoing protests.
The head of the Iranian judiciary, Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Eji, had suggested earlier on Wednesday that there would be quick trials and executions of those arrested in the protests that swept the country.
“If we want to do something, we have to do it now. If we want to do something, we have to do it quickly,” Mohseni Eji said. This was stated in a video clip posted online by Iranian state television, according to the Associated Press.
“If it is delayed by two or three months, it will not have the same effect,” Mohseni Eji said.
Trump said from the Oval Office on Wednesday that he had been informed that the executions would not occur.
“There were supposed to be a lot of executions today, and there will be no executions,” Trump said.
A US official confirmed to ABC News that some individuals had been advised to leave Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar by Wednesday evening due to rising tensions in the region. Reuters was the first to publish this warning.
In a statement published on its official website, Qatar’s International Media Office acknowledged that some individuals were leaving Al Udeid base. The statement added, “Such measures are being taken in response to the current regional tensions.”
As the death toll in the protests mounted, Trump wrote on social media on Tuesday, “Iranian Patriots, continue to protest – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! Save the names of the murderers and aggressors. They will pay a heavy price.”
Trump added: “I have canceled all meetings with Iranian officials until the senseless killing of protesters stops. Help is on the way.”
When asked by a reporter later during a visit to Michigan on Tuesday what it meant that help was on its way, Trump replied: “You have to know that. I’m sorry.”
Trump said he thought it was a “good idea” for Americans to leave Iran. The State Department said on Tuesday that all US citizens must leave the country.
Trump said he did not get an accurate figure for the number of people killed so far in the protests, but said “one is too many.”
“I think it’s too much. It’s too much, whatever it is,” he said.
Later on Tuesday, he told reporters that he would receive “accurate numbers” about the number of protesters killed in Iran soon and “we will act accordingly.”
On Monday, Trump announced the imposition of 25% tariffs on any country that deals with Iran. The president and White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt suggested other options were still being discussed.
One US official told ABC News that among the options under consideration are imposing new sanctions on key figures in the regime or against Iran’s energy or banking sectors.
Members of Trump’s national security team, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, met Tuesday morning to discuss Iran, according to Levitt. She added that Trump did not attend the meeting, and was not scheduled to attend it.
Vice President J.D. Vance also chaired a strategy meeting on Iran Tuesday afternoon with the National Security Council Directors Committee, a source familiar with the meeting confirmed to ABC News.
Iranian officials threatened retaliatory strikes against American and Israeli targets in the event of any foreign interference.
Protests have spread across the country since late December. The first marches took place in downtown Tehran, where participants demonstrated against rising inflation and the devaluation of the national currency, the rial.
As the protests spread, they took on a more clearly anti-government tone.
Government forces responded with a large-scale security campaign. There were also ongoing nationwide internet outages across the country. Online monitoring group NetBlocks said on Wednesday that the power outage had exceeded 132 hours.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior Iranian officials have said they are willing to address the protesters’ economic grievances, despite the unrest being portrayed as being led by “rioters” and “terrorists” sponsored by foreign countries – chief among them the United States and Israel – and supported by foreign infiltrators.
President Masoud Pezeshkian was quoted by state media on Wednesday as saying in a meeting with Economy Ministry officials that if economic conditions improve, “we will not see their protests in the streets.”
Opposition figures abroad urged Iranians to press the protests and overthrow the government in Tehran.
Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi – who from his base in the United States has become a prominent critic of the Iranian government – on Monday appealed to Trump to act in support of the protesters.
On Tuesday, Pahlavi called on members of the Iranian army to join the protests. “You are the national army of Iran, not the army of the Islamic Republic,” he wrote on the X website.
Pahlavi added: “You have a duty to protect the lives of your citizens.” “You don’t have much time. Join them as soon as you can.”
ABC News” Anne FlahertyShe contributed to this report.
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