US President Donald Trump announced that he had received credible information indicating that Iran had halted plans to execute protesters. This statement came amid escalating protests in Iran, which began due to a significant drop in the value of the Iranian rial and soaring food prices. The unrest has led to a severe crackdown by security forces, with thousands of demonstrators reportedly killed and detained.
In response to the situation, the UK has closed its embassy in Tehran and evacuated its staff. Poland and Italy have also advised their citizens to leave Iran. The US has reduced personnel at its Al-Udeid air base in Qatar, the largest US base in the Middle East, and the UK is doing the same at a military base in Qatar.
Tehran had previously warned regional countries against allowing US military action on its territory. The protests, which started in late December, spread across the country, with fatalities officially reported in early January. The Iranian government has also implemented an internet blackout, hindering reporting on casualties and the extent of the unrest. Rights groups estimate that thousands have been killed and thousands more arrested. Despite initial threats from Trump of strong action if Iran executed protesters, he later stated that the killings were stopping and that there were no execution plans. Iranian state media subsequently reported that a specific protester, Erfan Soltani, was not sentenced to death. The UN Security Council has scheduled an emergency meeting to discuss the developments at the request of the US.