US President Donald Trump has decided to temporarily postpone military strike options against Iran, after Washington received a series of urgent diplomatic efforts from Gulf countries and Israel to avoid the risk of a widespread conflict in the Middle East.
According to diplomatic sources, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman have held urgent phone calls with the White House, calling on the US to delay military action to create conditions for Tehran to send cool signals. A senior Saudi Arabian official described this as a rushed diplomatic campaign at the last minute, with the aim of preventing serious consequences for regional security.
At the same time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also sent a similar message to Washington. According to US media, Mr. Netanyahu expressed concern that a US attack could lead to retaliatory counter-attacks targeting Israel, increasing the risk of security instability.
By the end of January 14, President Trump signaled a reversal in his stance when he said he had received assurances that the violence in Iran was showing signs of ending. Mr. Trump wrote on social media that this is positive information and expressed his expectation that this trend will continue.
On January 15, Iran, through its Foreign Minister, affirmed that there is no plan to impose the death penalty on protesters. The case of Erfan Soltani, 26 years old, who faced the risk of being executed in the city of Karaj, was confirmed that he would not be sentenced to death.
Despite signs of cooling down, the White House still maintains a tough stance. The US administration warned that there would be serious consequences if violence recurred, while affirming that previous diplomatic and military pressures have contributed to preventing hundreds of executions in Iran.
Not only close US allies, but many other countries such as Turkey and Egypt also called for restraint.
Speaking at a press conference on January 15, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt affirmed that President Donald Trump is still carefully considering all options. She emphasized that much information currently based on anonymous sources is speculative, and affirmed that only the president decides the next step.
