The White House has said that Iranian authorities had "halted" 800 scheduled executions amid weeks of protests, adding that Washington is “closely monitoring” the situation.
“The president understands today that 800 executions that were scheduled and supposed to take place yesterday were halted,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday.
Leavitt said the administration of US President Donald Trump continued to assess developments related to Iran and signalled that further steps remain possible.
“The president and his team are closely monitoring this situation, and all options remain on the table for the president,” Leavitt said.
Trump has repeatedly vowed to back protesters in Iran, where a crackdown by authorities is said to have resulted in thousands of casualties.
He said this week that Washington would take “very strong action” if Iran carried out executions of protesters.
Iranian officials have accused the US and Israel of backing “riots” and “terrorism” in the protests.
The deadly and violent protests in Iran started on December 28.
Iranian authorities have not released official figures on casualties or detainees.
The UN Security Council is slated to meet later in the 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.
