US President Donald Trump has conveyed to Tehran that he is not seeking a military confrontation, urging restraint as regional tensions simmer, according to remarks attributed to Iran’s envoy in Pakistan.
Reza Amiri Moghadam said the message was relayed to him around 1 am Pakistan time on Wednesday, signalling that Washington did not want war and was asking Iran to avoid actions against US interests.
Speaking to Pakistani newspaper Dawn, which first reported the comments, Moghadam also addressed the unrest inside Iran.
He said citizens had a legitimate right to protest and claimed the authorities had entered into discussions with demonstrators. At the same time, he alleged that violence during the unrest involved armed groups, including incidents of killings and attacks on mosques.
The comments emerged as Iran publicly reiterated that it would defend itself against any foreign threat. This followed Trump’s statement that he would “watch it and see” when asked about possible military action related to Iran’s handling of protests.
Until Wednesday, US officials had warned of potential action if Iran proceeded with executions of people detained during the demonstrations.
At the White House, Trump told reporters he had received assurances from what he described as “very important sources on the other side” that executions would not take place. “They’ve said the killing has stopped and the executions won’t take place -- there were supposed to be a lot of executions today, and that the executions won’t take place -- and we’re going to find out,” he said.
When questioned by an AFP reporter in the Oval Office on whether military action was now ruled out, Trump responded: “We’re going to watch it and see what the process is.”
The protests, initially triggered by economic grievances, quickly spread across the country and transformed into a nationwide movement. Observers have described the unrest as the most serious challenge faced by the Islamic republic since its establishment in 1979.
Rights groups accuse the authorities, who maintain a policy of zero tolerance toward dissent, of carrying out a brutal crackdown. They estimate that at least 3,428 people have been killed and allege that an internet blackout was imposed to obscure the scale of the violence.
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