LONDON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he’s been informed that the “killing” in Iran has stopped and the anticipated executions of arrested protesters won’t take place, as activists say thousands of people have died over more than two weeks of protests.
The information was coming from “very important sources on the other side,” Trump said while announcing the update during an event in the Oval Office on Wednesday.
“We’ve been told on good authority, and I hope it’s true. Who knows, right?” he added.
Asked by a reporter if this means that military action is now off the table against Iran, Trump responded, “We’re going to watch and see what the process is. But we were given a very good statement by people that are aware of what’s going on.”
This video grab taken on Jan. 14, 2026 from UGC images posted on social media on Jan. 13, 2026, shows dozens of bodies lying on the ground at the Tehran Province Forensic Diagnostic and Laboratory Centre in Kahrizak, Iran.
-/UGC/AFP via Getty Images
Amid the unrest, Iran has issued a notice, known as a NOTAM, closing its airspace to all flights except international civil arrivals and departures with prior permission from Iran’s aviation authorities. The NOTAM is through 7:30 p.m. ET Wednesday but could be extended.
More than 2,500 people have died during nationwide protests in Iran over the past 17 days, activists said Wednesday. Trump has expressed his support for demonstrators and hinted at potential American intervention against the government in Tehran over the killings.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it had verified a total of 2,571 deaths — and is reviewing reports of 779 other deaths — since the protests began on Dec. 28.
The confirmed deaths include 2,403 adult protesters, 12 protesters under the age of 18, 147 government-affiliated personnel and nine non-protesting civilians, HRANA said.
Another 1,134 protesters have been seriously injured, HRANA said, with at least 18,137 people arrested.
The HRANA data relies on the work of activists inside and outside the country. ABC News cannot independently verify these numbers. The Iranian government has not provided any civilian death tolls related to the ongoing protests.
The head of Iran’s judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, had suggested earlier Wednesday that there would be expedited trials and executions for those who have been arrested in the nationwide protests.
“If we want to do a job, we should do it now. If we want to do something, we have to do it quickly,” Mohseni-Ejei said in a video shared online by Iranian state television, according to The Associated Press.
“If it becomes late, two months, three months later, it doesn’t have the same effect,” Mohseni-Ejei said.
Trump said from the Oval Office on Wednesday that he’s been told that the executions are not happening.
“It was supposed to be a lot of executions today, and the executions won’t take place,” Trump said.
As casualties from the protests mounted, Trump wrote on social media on Tuesday, “Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING — TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price.”
“I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY,” Trump added.
When later pressed by a reporter during a visit to Michigan on Tuesday on what he meant by help is on its way, Trump responded, “You’re gonna have to figure that one out, I’m sorry.”
Trump said he thought it was “a good idea” for Americans to evacuate from Iran. The State Department on Tuesday said that all U.S. citizens should leave the country.
U.S. President Donald Trump wearing a “happy Trump” pin speaks during a meeting with oil industry executives at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 9, 2026.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
A U.S. official confirmed to ABC News that some personnel had been advised to leave al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar by Wednesday evening due to increased tensions in the region. Reuters was the first to report the advisory.
In a statement posted to its official website, Qatar’s International Media Office acknowledged that some personnel were leaving al-Udeid. “Such measures are being undertaken in response to the current regional tensions,” the statement said.
Trump said Tuesday he hasn’t been given an accurate number of how many people have been killed so far in the protests, but said “one is a lot.”
“I think it’s a lot. It’s too many, whatever it is,” he said.
Later Tuesday, he told reporters that he will be receiving “accurate numbers” on how many protesters have been killed in Iran soon and “we’ll act accordingly.”
Trump on Monday announced a 25% tariff on any country doing business with Iran. The president and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt suggested other options are also still under discussion.
One U.S. official told ABC News that among the options under consideration are new sanctions against key regime figures or against Iran’s energy or banking sectors.
Members of Trump’s national security team — including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe — met Tuesday morning to discuss Iran, according to Leavitt. Trump did not attend the meeting, nor was he scheduled to, she said.
Vice President JD Vance also led an Iran strategy meeting on Tuesday afternoon with the National Security Council principals committee, a source with direct knowledge of the meeting confirmed to ABC News.
Iranian officials have threatened retaliatory strikes against U.S. and Israeli targets in the event of any outside intervention.
This frame grab from videos taken between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11, 2026, and circulating on social media purportedly shows images from a morgue with dozens of bodies and mourners after crackdown on the outskirts of Iran’s capital, in Kahrizak, Tehran Province. (UGC via AP)
The Associated Press
Protests have been spreading across the country since late December. The first marches took place in downtown Tehran, with participants demonstrating against rising inflation and the falling value of the national currency, the rial.
As the protests spread, they have taken on a more explicitly anti-government tone.
Government forces have responded with a major security crackdown. A sustained national internet outage has also been in place across the country. Online monitoring group NetBlocks said on Wednesday that the blackout had surpassed 132 hours.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and top Iranian officials have said they are willing to engage with the economic grievances of protesters, though have framed the unrest as driven by “rioters” and “terrorists” sponsored by foreign nations — prime among them the U.S. and Israel — and supported by foreign infiltrators.
In this photo obtained by The Associated Press, Iranians attend an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
The Associated Press
On Wednesday, President Masoud Pezeshkian was quoted by state media telling a meeting with Economy Ministry officials that if economic conditions were improved, “we wouldn’t be witnessing their protests on the streets.”
Dissident figures abroad have urged Iranians to press the protests and topple the government in Tehran.
Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi — who from his base in the U.S. has become a prominent critic of the Iranian government — on Monday appealed to Trump to act in support of the protesters.
On Tuesday, Pahlavi called on members of the Iranian military to join the protests. “You are the national military of Iran, not the military of the Islamic Republic,” he wrote on X.
“You have a duty to protect the lives of your compatriots,” Pahlavi added. “You do not have much time. Join them as soon as possible.”
ABC News’ Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.
