Iran stopped 800 executions after Trump warns of ‘grave consequences’, says White House

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the US president had been informed the executions, which were due to take place earlier this week, had been stopped.

3 min readJan 16, 2026 12:34 PM IST First published on: Jan 16, 2026 at 12:34 PM IST

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House. (Photo: AP)

Iran halted plans to carry out around 800 executions after pressure from the United States, the White House said on Thursday, as US President Donald Trump warned of “grave consequences” if the killing of protesters continues.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the US president had been informed the executions, which were due to take place earlier this week, had been stopped.

“The president understands today that 800 executions that were scheduled and supposed to take place yesterday were halted,” Leavitt said.

“All options remain on the table for the president.” Leavitt said Trump and his team had delivered a direct message to Iranian officials, linking the planned executions to what Washington described as violent repression of nationwide protests.

“The president and his team have communicated to the Iranian regime that if the killing continues, there will be grave consequences,” she said.

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Trump says killings have stopped

Speaking to reporters in Washington earlier, Trump said he had been told that both executions and the killing of protesters had been halted.

“The executions have stopped and they’re not going to have an execution,” Trump said, adding that the issue had been raised repeatedly in recent days.

Trump said intermediaries had passed on assurances from Tehran that executions would not go ahead. He did not provide details of those contacts.

Sanctions and diplomatic pressure

The White House said Trump is closely monitoring developments in Iran. The comments came hours after the US imposed new sanctions on Iranian officials accused of involvement in the crackdown on protests.

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The US Treasury Department said the measures target officials it says were among those who first called for violence against demonstrators. Washington has also taken steps to track financial transfers linked to Iranian leaders overseas, Reuters reported.

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At the same time, US officials said diplomacy is ongoing through regional intermediaries. Gulf states including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman have been involved in efforts to reduce tensions.

Iran response

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denied that Tehran plans to carry out executions related to the protests.

“There is no plan for hanging,” Araghchi said in an interview with Fox News, calling such punishment “out of the question.”

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Iran has also imposed a nationwide internet blackout, now in its seventh day, which activists say is intended to limit information about the scale of the crackdown.

Human rights groups say more than 2,600 people have been killed since protests began, a figure Tehran disputes.