U.S. tells UN all options 'on the table' in Iran, which says it will respond to any act of aggression
Meanwhile, Trump says he's not opposed to Reza Pahlavi, but questions exiled crown prince's support in Iran
The UN Security Council is hosting an emergency meeting to discuss deadly protests in Iran at the request of the United States, even as U.S. President Donald Trump left unclear what actions he would take against the Islamic Republic, which vowed to respond to any act of aggression.
Trump said earlier on Thursday that he'd been told that killings in Iran’s crackdown on protests were easing and that he believed there was no current plan for large-scale executions, though he had earlier threatened to intervene.
In a social media post, Trump responded to a news report that an Iranian protester was no longer being sentenced to death, writing: "This is good news. Hopefully, it will continue!"
Iran and its Western foes have both described the unrest as the most violent since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that installed Iran's system of Shia clerical rule.
Iranian authorities said the demonstrations turned from legitimate protest at economic grievances into unrest fomented by its foreign enemies, accusing people it described as terrorists of attacking the security forces and public property.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in support of protesters in Iran, though he has been circumspect as to what that might entail. Iranian officials have threatened to target U.S. assets were that to occur.
'All options' on table in Iran, U.S. tells UN
Mike Waltz, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Thursday that the United States stands by the “brave people of Iran.”
"President Trump is a man of action, not endless talk like we see at the United Nations. He has made it clear all options are on the table to stop the slaughter," Waltz told the Security Council meeting, which Washington had requested.
Waltz dismissed Iran's allegations that the protests are "a foreign plot to give a precursor to military action."
"Everyone in the world needs to know that the regime is weaker than ever before, and therefore is putting forward this lie because of the power of the Iranian people in the streets. They are afraid. They're afraid of their own people," Waltz said.
Iran's Deputy UN Ambassador Gholamhossein Darzi said Iran does not seek escalation or confrontation and accused Waltz of resorting "to lies, distortion of facts, and a deliberate misinformation campaign to conceal his country’s direct involvement in steering unrest in Iran to violence."
"However, any act of aggression — direct or indirect — will be met with a decisive, proportionate, and lawful response," he told the Security Council. "This is not a threat; it is a statement of legal reality."
No death sentence for protester
After Iran's foreign minister said Tehran had "no plan" to hang people, Iranian state media on Thursday reported that a 26-year-old man arrested during protests in the city of Karaj would not receive a death sentence.
Earlier this week, rights organization Hengaw reported that 26-year-old Essam Soltani, arrested in connection with protests in the city of Karaj, Iran, was due to be executed on Wednesday.
However, on Thursday Iranian state media said that while Soltani was being charged with "colluding against the country's internal security and propaganda activities against the regime," the death penalty does not apply to such charges if they are confirmed by a court.
U.S. imposes sanctions
People inside Iran, reached by Reuters on Wednesday and Thursday, said protests appeared to have abated since Monday.
The flow of information has been hampered by a week-long internet blackout.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday that the government was trying to address some of the economic problems that first spurred the protests, adding that it intended to tackle issues of corruption and foreign exchange rates. He said that this would improve purchasing power for poorer people.
Despite this, Washington tightened pressure on Tehran on Thursday by imposing sanctions on five Iranian officials it accused of being behind the crackdown, and said it was tracking Iranian leaders' funds being wired to banks around the world.
The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the Secretary of the Supreme Council for National Security as well as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and law enforcement forces commanders.
"U.S. Treasury knows, that like rats on a sinking ship, you are frantically wiring funds stolen from Iranian families to banks and financial institutions around the world. Rest assured, we will track them and you," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a video.
"But there's still time, if you choose to join us. As President Trump has said, stop the violence and stand with the people of Iran."
Sanctions were also imposed on Fardis Prison, where the U.S. State Department said women have "endured cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment."
The Group of Seven countries said it was prepared to impose additional restrictive measures on Iran if it continued to crack down.
Trump says he was told killings were subsiding
Tensions had risen on Wednesday, with Iran saying it had warned neighbours it would hit American bases in the region in the event of U.S. strikes, and a U.S. official saying the United States was withdrawing some personnel from bases in the region.
Trump said he had been told by "very important sources on the other side" that killings in the crackdown were subsiding.
He did not rule out potential U.S. military action but said his administration had received a "very good statement" from Iran.
The security warning level at the U.S. Al Udeid airbase in Qatar has been lowered after a heightened alert triggered on Wednesday, three sources briefed on the situation told Reuters on Thursday.
In a fragmented Iranian opposition, Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has emerged as a prominent voice during the unrest. The U.S.-based Pahlavi, 65, has lived outside Iran since before his father, the last Shah of Iran, was toppled.
"He seems very nice, but I don't know how he'd play within his own country," Trump told Reuters. "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."
Canadian among those killed
The U.S.-based HRANA rights group says it has so far verified the deaths of 2,435 protesters and 153 government-affiliated individuals since protests erupted on Dec. 28 of last year.
Reports emerged late Wednesday that a Canadian citizen was among those killed.
"Our consular officials are in contact with the victim's family in Canada and my deepest condolences are with them at this time," Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said in a statement on Thursday, without identifying the person.
The Canadian government both on its own and as part of the G7 on Wednesday has condemned the Iranian regime's crackdown on protesters and supported the human rights of Iranian demonstrators.
With files from The Associated Press