Here's what happened around Iran in past 24 hours

The deadly and violent protests in Iran that started on December 28 and which directly put the country on a collision course with the United States kept the entire region on the edge on Wednesday night and early Thursday.

Thousands of demonstrators have reportedly been killed and many more injured in the street agitation that followed a steep depreciation in the Iranian currency.

US President Donald Trump warned Tehran that if security forces continued killing protesters, Washington could intervene militarily or take ‘very hard’ action.

From Tehran’s official standpoint, the unrest was portrayed not as a legitimate uprising but as violence fomented by foreign enemies seeking to destabilise the country.

Iranian leaders have blamed the United States, Israel and other external powers for inciting unrest and defended their security response as necessary to protect national stability, while dismissing US threats as interference in Iran’s internal affairs.

Trump took a particularly hardline after reports emerged that Iran was planning to execute some protestors.

"We will take very strong action if they do such a thing," he said. "When they start killing thousands of people — and now you're telling me about hanging. We'll see how that's going to work out for them.”

In the past two days, Iran eased some restrictions and, for the first time in days, allowed citizens to make phone calls abroad via their mobile phones.

Later, Trump also appeared to have dialled down the rhetoric and said the killing of Iranian protesters “has stopped”.

But then Iran closed its airspace to most flights in the wee hours of January 15, sending social media into a frenzy over a possible US strike.

Here are the major developments from the past 24 hours.

Trump says killing in Iran 'is stopping'

Trump said Wednesday he was informed that "executions" of anti-government protesters in Iran are being halted.

“We have been notified and pretty strongly, but we'll find out what that all means. But we've been told that the killing in Iran is stopping. It's stopped," Trump told the reporters at the White House.

"There's no plan for executions — an execution or executions. I've been told that on good authority. We'll find out about it," he added.

Iran protester won't face death penalty: judiciary

An Iranian man arrested during a wave of protests, who NGOs and Washington had warned faced imminent execution, has not been sentenced to death and is not facing charges that risk the death penalty, the judiciary said on Thursday.

He has "not been sentenced to death" and if he is convicted, "the punishment, according to the law, will be imprisonment, as the death penalty does not exist for such charges", it added.

Iran's airspace reopens

Iran’s airspace reopened to traffic Thursday after a temporary closure to most flights expired, with tracking data showing aircrafts making their way towards Tehran.

FlightRadar24, an online flight tracking service, confirmed that the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) restricting Iranian airspace had expired, and multiple flights were observed entering the country's airspace.

UNSC to meet on Iran

The UN Security Council is slated to meet Thursday afternoon for "a briefing on the situation in Iran," according to a spokesperson for the Somali presidency.

The scheduling note said the briefing was requested by the United States.

US Embassy in Qatar warns citizens to stay alert

The US Embassy in Doha issued a security advisory Wednesday for personnel and Americans in Qatar “to exercise increased caution and limit non-essential travel to Al Udeid Airbase.”

"We recommend US citizens in Qatar do the same," it said in a security alert.

The embassy said it is continuing to monitor the situation.

Israel trying to drag US into wars: Iran FM

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that Israel has always tried to draw the US into wars fought “on its behalf.”

“Israel has always sought to drag the US into fighting wars on its behalf. But remarkably, this time they are saying the quiet part out loud,” Araghchi wrote on the US social media company X, quoting a post by Tamir Morag, a diplomatic affairs correspondent for Israel’s Channel 14.

Accusing Israel of arming protesters

Araghchi said Iran’s streets are “soaked in blood,” accusing Israel of boasting about arming protesters, which he said was behind “hundreds of deaths.”

He added that if Trump wants to stop the killing in Iran, he should address Israel to prevent the arming of protesters.

“With blood on our streets, Israel is explicitly gloating about having ‘armed protestors with live weapons', and this is the reason for the hundreds of dead,” Araghchi said.

Israeli reopens bomb shelters

Municipalities in southern and central Israel ordered the opening of public shelters on Wednesday amid heightened regional tensions, Israeli media reported.

The mayor of Dimona in southern Israel ordered the shelters to be opened across the city because “it is better to be prepared than surprised,” Benny Biton said in comments carried by the Israel Hayom newspaper.

The municipalities of Beersheba in southern Israel and Gan Yavne in central Israel also followed a similar step as they opened public bomb shelters, said Israeli Channel 13.

Oil plunges

Oil prices slid Thursday after Trump appeared to dial down threats of imminent military action on Iran.

The prices dropped three percent after Trump said Wednesday he would "watch it and see" on possible intervention Iran, after he said he was told the killings of protesters there had stopped.

Iran rejects execution claims

Iran’s Araghchi on Wednesday denied claims that authorities in his country planned to execute protesters following weeks of unrest.

"There is no any hanging, today or tomorrow ... I can tell you, I'm confident about that. There is no plan for hanging at all," Araghchi told US-based broadcaster Fox News in an interview.

Araghchi’s comment comes in response to Trump’s Tuesday statement that Washington would take “very strong action” if Iran carried out executions of protesters.

Iran urges Trump not to repeat June 'mistake'

Iran’s foreign minister cautioned Trump not to repeat the "mistake" of previous military confrontations, emphasising that Tehran is prepared for diplomacy, during an interview with an American news outlet.

"My message is, don't repeat the mistake you made in June. You know, if you try a failed experience, you will get the same result," Araghchi told Fox News, referring to American strikes against three nuclear facilities in Iran as part of a 12-day Iran-Israel war in June.