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President Donald Trump surprised reporters on Friday by commenting that he “convinced himself” to cancel strikes on Iran, noting that the country’s move to halt a scheduled slew of hangings was the biggest factor in his decision.
“Nobody convinced me,” the president said, when asked if Arab or Israeli officials convinced him “not” to strike Iran.
He continued, “I convinced myself. You had, yesterday, scheduled, over 800 hangings. They didn’t hang anyone. They canceled the hangings. That had a big impact.”
The president also publicly acknowledged this development on Truth Social on Friday morning, writing, “I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings, which were to take place yesterday (Over 800 of them), have been cancelled by the leadership of Iran. Thank you!”
As demonstrations in Iran continue, the president had previously hinted that he stood ready to take action if necessary.
The protests, driven by widespread unrest against the harshly theocratic government amid an economic crisis, are yet another foreign policy hotspot that the Trump administration has contended with over the past few weeks.
According to the Security Council Report, the government’s crackdown on protestors in Iran has been violent, and there are reports of thousands of deaths associated with the demonstrations.
However, as President Trump confirmed his decision to cancel strikes against Iran this week, he remains under pressure to use the U.S. military to intervene overseas.
“…The people brought this on themselves…there’s no bombing set that’s going to bring this thing down,” argued “War Room” host Steve Bannon, noting that it was more important to worry about domestic issues.
“Worry about what you guys have allowed to happen in New York City with Mamdani,” he said.
Bannon was responding directly to conservative commentator Mark Levin, who heavily favors U.S. involvement in the Middle East.
