US President Donald Trump has said he has been told "the killing in Iran has stopped", but the US president has not ruled out military action against the country over its violent crackdown on anti-government protesters. The United States has withdrawn some personnel from bases in the Middle East, a US official said on Wednesday, after a senior Iranian official said Tehran had warned neighbors it would hit American bases if Washington strikes. With Iran's leadership trying to quell the worst domestic unrest the Islamic Republic has ever faced, Tehran is seeking to deter Trump's repeated threats to intervene on behalf of anti-government protesters. Iranian authorities have accused the US and Israel of fomenting the unrest, carried out by people it calls armed terrorists. A UN Security Council meeting will be held later Thursdayfor "a briefing on the situation in Iran". The meeting has been requested by the US, according to the scheduling note. Trump has also said he has doubts whether Iran's opposition figure Reza Pahlavi, the US-based eldest son of the late shah of Iran, would have the support to lead Iran if its ruling system fell. Pahlavi has urged protesters and members of Iran's armed forces to oppose Iran's ruling system, saying international attention is now translating into action. Trump's comments on Wednesday came after the US and UK both reduced the number of personnel at the Al-Udeid air base in Qatar. Officials told CBS News that a partial American withdrawal was a "precautionary measure". The UK's Foreign Office has also temporarily closed the British embassy in Tehran, which will now operate remotely, a government spokesperson said. Trump had earlier threatened "very strong action" against Iran if the government executed protesters, after reports emerged that a 26-year-old man who had been arrested during the height of the demonstrations had been sentenced to death. Erfan Soltani was scheduled to be executed on Wednesday, his family had told BBC Persian. They later told the Norway-based Kurdish human rights group Hengaw that his execution had been postponed. On Thursday, Iranian state media said Soltani was arrested during the protests but denied he was sentenced to death. Speaking from the White House, Trump said his administration had been told "on good authority" that "the killing in Iran is stopping, and there's no plan for executions". When questioned by a reporter, Trump said that "very important sources on the other side" had informed him of the developments, adding that he hoped the reports were true. When asked whether he could support Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's last shah, Trump said "I don't know whether or not his country would accept his leadership, and certainly if they would, that would be fine with me". "He seems very nice, but I don't know how he'd play within his own country," Trump added. "And we really aren't up to that point yet. I don't know whether or not his country would accept his leadership, and certainly if they would, that would be fine with me." Responding to reports of potential executions, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said "hanging is out of the question" and there would be "no hanging today or tomorrow". Speaking to Fox News, he also warned the US president to "not repeat the same mistake that you did in June," adding: "If you try a failed experience, you will get the same result." In June 2025, the US bombed three of Iran's nuclear sites over fears Tehran could use them to build a nuclear weapon. Initial demonstrations over the collapse of the Iranian currency began in late December, but swiftly expanded into a wider crisis of legitimacy for Iran's clerical leadership. In addition to the temporary closure of the British embassy in Tehran, the US Mission to Saudi Arabia has advised its personnel and citizens to "exercise increased caution and limit non-essential travel to any military installations in the region". Iran has reopened its airspace after a closure of nearly five hours, imposed amid concerns over possible military action, which disrupted flights in the region. The restriction was lifted shortly before 03:00 GMT on Thursday, flight-tracking service Flightradar24 showed, as several Iranian flights were among the first to resume over the country. Italy and Poland have published statements urging their citizens to leave Iran, while Germany has issued a notice to air operators recommending that flights do not enter Iranian airspace, citing potential risk from "escalating conflict and anti-aviation weaponry". German airline Lufthansa issued a statement confirming its flights would avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace "until further notice". The US embassy in Doha has advised its personnel to exercise increased caution and limit non-essential travel to the Al-Udeid air base, while the Qatari government said it would continue to "implement all necessary measures to safeguard the security and safety of its citizens and residents". Al-Udeid is the largest US military base in the Middle East with about 10,000 personnel based there, as well as around 100 UK staff. It is not clear how many will be leaving. Earlier this week, the US president had urged Iranians to "KEEP PROTESTING" via a post on his Truth Social platform, promising that "HELP IS ON ITS WAY". The US-based HRANA rights group said it had so far verified the deaths of 2,403 protesters and 147 government-affiliated individuals, dwarfing tolls from previous waves of protests crushed by the authorities in 2022 and 2009. The government's prestige was hammered by a 12-day Israeli bombing campaign last June that followed setbacks for Iran's regional allies in Lebanon and Syria. European powers restored UN sanctions over Iran's nuclear programme, compounding the economic crisis there. The unrest on such a scale caught the authorities off guard at a vulnerable time, but it does not appear that the government faces imminent collapse, and its security apparatus still appears to be in control, one Western official said. The authorities have sought to project images showing they retain public support. Iranian state TV broadcast footage of large funeral processions for people killed in the unrest in Tehran, Isfahan, Bushehr and other cities. People waved flags and pictures of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and held aloft signs with anti-riot slogans. — Agencies
