TehranIran's envoy to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, claims that US President Donald Trump has told Iran that he does not intend to attack and has urged Tehran to exercise restraint.
Moghadam stated that he got the message on Wednesday at about one in the morning (local time). He claimed that amid rising tensions, Trump had asked Iran not to target US interests in the region and that he did not want a war.
Additionally, the Iranian envoy asserted that the government had negotiated with protesters and that Iranians had a right to protest. The comments were first reported by the Pakistani newspaper Dawn. Moghadam also claimed that armed groups were responsible for murders and attacks on mosques in Iran.
Following Trump's statement that he would "watch it and see" regarding the possibility of military action in response to the crackdown on protesters, Iran declared on Thursday that it would defend itself against any foreign threat.
Up until Wednesday, the US had threatened to use force if Iran executed people detained during the protests. Speaking at the White House, Trump claimed to have received guarantees that executions would not take place from "very important sources on the other side."
"They have declared that there will be no executions and that the killing has ceased. Many executions were scheduled for today, but they won't happen, and we'll find out," Trump declared.
"We're going to watch it and see what the process is," Trump said in response to an AFP reporter in the Oval Office asking if US military action was no longer an option.
Initially sparked by economic grievances, the protests in Iran swiftly spread throughout the country, presenting what is thought to be the biggest threat to the Islamic republic since its founding in 1979.
Rights organizations claim that the authorities' crackdown has killed at least 3,428 people, and they accuse Iran's leadership of hiding the extent of the violence by blocking the internet.