Trump also claimed he intervened to stop Iran’s leadership from carrying out mass executions on Thursday, reiterating earlier warnings tied to the treatment of protesters. “I said if you hang those people, you’re going to be hit harder than you’ve ever been hit,” Trump said, adding, “They actually said they cancelled it. They didn’t postpone it, they cancelled it. So that was a good sign.”
The president emphasized that U.S. naval forces remain positioned near Iran despite uncertainty over their use. “But we have an armada. We have a massive fleet heading in that direction and maybe we won’t have to use it, we’ll see,” Trump said.
Iran’s top prosecutor on Friday rejected Trump’s assertions, calling his claims that executions were halted “completely false.” The statement followed weeks of antigovernment demonstrations across Iran that have resulted in more than 3,300 deaths during clashes with security forces.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, accused the United States of orchestrating unrest inside the country and supporting the protests. “We do not intend to lead the country toward war,” Khamenei wrote on the social platform X, adding, “However, we will not just let go of the criminals inside the country either… Worse than the internal criminals are the international criminals! We will not let go of them either.”
