US President Donald Trump mentioned Wednesday he had been informed the killings of protesters in Iran had been halted, however added that he would “watch it and see” about threatened army motion.
Trump had repeatedly talked in latest days about coming to assistance from the Iranian folks over the crackdown on protests.
However in a shock announcement on the White Home, Trump mentioned he had now acquired assurances from “crucial sources on the opposite aspect” that Tehran had now stopped, and that executions wouldn’t go forward.
“They’ve mentioned the killing has stopped and the executions will not happen – there have been purported to be plenty of executions at present and that the executions will not happen – and we will discover out,” Trump mentioned.
He supplied no particulars and famous that the USA had but to confirm the claims.
Requested by an AFP reporter within the Oval Workplace if US army motion was now off the desk, Trump replied: “We will watch it and see what the method is.”
Iranian International Minister Abbas Araghchi later mentioned there could be “no hanging at present or tomorrow,” in an interview with US community Fox Information.
“I can inform you, I am assured that there isn’t any plan for hanging,” Araghchi mentioned, additionally accusing Israel of orchestrating violence.
‘Full management’
However Araghchi mentioned the Iranian authorities was “in full management” and reported an environment of “calm” after what he known as three days of “terrorist operation.”
Iran additionally struck a defiant tone about responding to any US assault, as Washington appeared to attract down employees at a base in Qatar that Tehran focused in a strike final yr.
Iran focused the Al Udeid base in June in retaliation for US strikes on its nuclear services. Ali Shamkhani, a senior advisor to Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned Trump that the strike confirmed “Iran’s will and functionality to reply to any assault.” Fears of attainable US army motion continued to rile the area.
The British authorities mentioned its embassy in Tehran had been “quickly closed,” whereas the US embassy in Saudi Arabia urged employees to train warning and keep away from army installations.
Trump has threatened to intervene militarily in Iran a number of occasions for the reason that protest motion that has shaken the nation started in late December.
Iran’s judiciary chief vowed fast-track trials for these arrested, stoking fears authorities will use capital punishment as a device of repression.
In Tehran, authorities held a funeral for greater than 100 safety personnel and different “martyrs” killed within the unrest, which officers have branded “acts of terror.”
Iran reopens airspace
Iran reopened its airspace after a near-five-hour closure amid issues about attainable army motion between the US and Iran that compelled airways to cancel, reroute or delay some flights.
Iran closed its airspace to all flights besides worldwide ones to and from Iran with official permission at 2215 GMT on Wednesday, in keeping with a discover on the US Federal Aviation Administration web site.
The discover was eliminated shortly earlier than 0300 GMT, in keeping with monitoring service Flightradar24, which confirmed 5 flights from Iranian carriers Mahan Air, Yazd Airways and AVA Airways had been among the many first to renew over the nation.
At an analogous time final week to the airspace closure there had been dozens of planes within the air over Iran, Flightradar24 mentioned.
The US was withdrawing some personnel from bases within the Center East, a US official mentioned on Wednesday, after a senior Iranian official mentioned Tehran had warned its neighbors that it might hit American bases if Washington strikes.
Missile and drone barrages in a rising variety of battle zones symbolize a excessive danger to airline visitors.
Indian airways amongst these affected
India’s largest airline, IndiGo mentioned a few of its worldwide flights could be impacted by Iran’s sudden airspace closure. Air
India mentioned its flights had been utilizing different routes that might lead to delays or cancellations.
A flight by Russia’s Aeroflot sure for Tehran returned to Moscow after the closure, in keeping with Flightradar24 information.
Earlier on Wednesday, Germany issued a brand new directive cautioning the nation’s airways from getting into Iranian airspace, shortly after Lufthansa rejigged its flight operations throughout the Center East amid escalating tensions within the area.
The US already prohibits all US business flights from overflying Iran and there aren’t any direct flights between the nations.
Airline operators like flydubai and Turkish Airways have canceled a number of flights to Iran previously week.
“A number of airways have already lowered or suspended providers, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace,” mentioned Secure Airspace, an internet site run by OPSGROUP, a membership-based group that shares flight danger info.
“The scenario might sign additional safety or army exercise, together with the chance of missile launches or heightened air protection, rising the chance of misidentification of civilian visitors.”
A Ukraine Worldwide Airways jet was downed by Iran’s army in 2020, killing all 176 passengers and crew.
Lufthansa mentioned on Wednesday that it might bypass Iranian and Iraqi airspace till additional discover whereas it might solely function day flights to Tel Aviv and Amman from Wednesday till
Monday subsequent week in order that crew wouldn’t have to remain in a single day. Some flights is also canceled on account of these actions, it added in an announcement.
Italian provider ITA Airways, by which Lufthansa Group is now a serious shareholder, mentioned that it might equally droop night time flights to Tel Aviv till Tuesday subsequent week.
‘Unprecedented stage of brutality’
G7 nations mentioned Wednesday they had been “deeply alarmed on the excessive stage of reported deaths and accidents” and warned of additional sanctions if the crackdown continued.
Monitor NetBlocks mentioned Iran’s web blackout had lasted 156 hours.
Amnesty Worldwide accused authorities of committing mass illegal killings “on an unprecedented scale,” citing verified movies and eyewitness accounts.
The US-based Institute for the Examine of Struggle mentioned authorities had been utilizing “an unprecedented stage of brutality to suppress protests,” noting experiences of protest exercise had declined sharply.
A senior Iranian official informed journalists there had been no new “riots” since Monday, distinguishing them from earlier cost-of-living protests. “Each society can anticipate protests, however we is not going to tolerate violence,” he mentioned.
Prosecutors have mentioned some detainees will face capital prices of “waging warfare in opposition to God.” State media reported a whole bunch of arrests and the detention of a overseas nationwide for espionage, with out giving particulars.
India tells residents to go away Iran
India’s overseas ministry has urged its residents to go away Iran, the place rights teams say a crackdown on mass protests has killed and arrested 1000’s of individuals.
India’s overseas ministry estimates there are normally round 10,000 residents in Iran.
“Indian nationals who’re at the moment in Iran (college students, pilgrims, enterprise individuals and vacationers) are suggested to go away Iran by out there technique of transport,” the Indian Embassy in Tehran mentioned, in a submit on social media late Wednesday.
AI-created Iran protest movies acquire traction
AI-generated movies purportedly depicting protests in Iran have flooded the net, researchers mentioned Wednesday, as social media customers push hyper-realistic deepfakes to fill an info void amid the nation’s web restrictions.
US disinformation watchdog NewsGuard mentioned it recognized seven AI-generated movies depicting the Iranian protests – created by each professional – and anti-government actors – which have collectively amassed some 3.5 million views throughout on-line platforms.
Amongst them was a video shared on the Elon Musk-owned platform X displaying girls protesters smashing a car belonging to the Basij, the Iranian paramilitary power deployed to suppress the protests.
One X submit that includes the AI clip, shared by what NewsGuard described as anti-regime customers, garnered practically 720,000 views.
Anti-regime X and TikTok customers in the USA additionally posted AI movies depicting Iranian protesters symbolically renaming native streets after President Donald Trump.
One such clip exhibits a protester altering a road signal to “Trump St” whereas different demonstrators cheer, with an overlaid caption studying: “Iranian protesters are renaming the streets after Trump.”
Professional-regime social media customers additionally shared AI movies purportedly displaying large-scale pro-government counterprotests all through the Islamic republic.
The AI creations spotlight the rising prevalence of what specialists name “hallucinated” visible content material on social media throughout main information occasions, usually overshadowing genuine photographs and movies.
On this case, AI creators had been filling an info void attributable to the web blackout imposed by the Iranian regime because it sought to suppress demonstrations, specialists mentioned.
“There’s plenty of information – however no option to get it due to the web blackout,” mentioned NewsGuard analyst Ines Chomnalez.
“International social media customers are turning to AI video mills to advance their very own narratives concerning the unfolding chaos.”
The fabricated movies had been the most recent instance of AI instruments being deployed to distort fast-developing breaking information.
AI fabrications, usually amplified by partisan actors, have fueled alternate realities round latest information occasions, together with the US seize of Venezuelan chief Nicolas Maduro and a lethal capturing by immigration brokers in Minneapolis.
AFP fact-checkers additionally uncovered misrepresented photographs that created deceptive narratives concerning the Iranian protests, the most important for the reason that Islamic Republic was proclaimed in 1979.
One month-old video purportedly displaying demonstrations in Iran was truly filmed in Greece in November 2025, whereas one other claiming to depict a protester tearing down an Iranian flag was filmed in Nepal throughout final yr’s protests that toppled the Himalayan nation’s authorities.
