Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the government has restored order following a deadly crackdown on protests that began spreading nationwide on January 8. Speaking to Fox News, he claimed that after three days of what he called terrorist operations, the situation had calmed and authorities were fully in control.
Sina Toossi of the Center for International Policy said Donald Trump’s assertion that killings in Iran had stopped appeared to be a face-saving move to avoid military action. Toossi noted that while Trump’s statements are often difficult to take at face value, he has historically been reluctant to enter prolonged military conflicts, particularly with Iran.
He added that Trump has a pattern of combining threats of force with efforts to negotiate, meaning military action cannot be entirely ruled out. Asked whether US threats against Tehran were now withdrawn, Trump said Washington would monitor developments before issuing a statement based on assessments from informed officials.
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