Iran crisis: Trump holds off strike talk after Gulf push for diplomacy

The president of the European Union's executive arm says the 27-member bloc is looking to strengthen sanctions against Iran as ordinary Iranians continue their protests against Iran's theocratic government.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday following a meeting of the EU's commissioners in Limassol, Cyprus that current sanctions against Iran are "weakening the regime."

Von der Leyen said that the EU is looking to sanction individual Iranians -apart from those who belong to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard - who "are responsible for the atrocities."

She added that the people of Iran who are "bravely fighting for a change" have the EU's "full political support."

Iran's crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,615, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. The death toll exceeds any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The US imposed sanctions Thursday on Iranian security officials and financial networks, accusing them of orchestrating a violent crackdown on peaceful protests and laundering billions in oil revenues.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the measures in the wake of the biggest anti-government protests in the history of Iran, although the demonstrations appear to have diminished over the last few days in the face of repression and an almost week-long internet blackout.

"The United States stands firmly behind the Iranian people in their call for freedom and justice," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement, adding that the action was taken at President Donald Trump's direction.

Among those sanctioned is Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme Council for National Security, whom Washington accused of coordinating the crackdown and calling for force against protesters.

Four regional commanders of Iran's Law Enforcement Forces and Revolutionary Guard were also sanctioned for their roles in the crackdown in Lorestan and Fars provinces.

Security forces in Fars "have killed countless peaceful demonstrators" with hospitals "so inundated with gunshot wound patients that no other types of patients can be admitted," the Treasury said.

The Treasury additionally designated 18 individuals and entities accused of operating "shadow banking" networks that launder proceeds from Iranian oil sales through front companies in the UAE, Singapore and Britain.

These networks funnel billions of dollars annually using cover companies and exchange houses, as Iranian citizens face economic hardship, according to the Treasury.

The sanctions freeze any US assets of those designated and prohibit Americans from doing business with them. Foreign financial institutions risk secondary sanctions for transactions with the designated entities.

The action builds on the Trump administration's "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran. In 2025, the Treasury sanctioned more than 875 persons, vessels and aircraft as part of this effort, it said.

Montreal: A Canadian citizen has died "at the hands of the Iranian authorities," Ottawa said Thursday, with the Islamic republic gripped by nationwide protests.

"I have just learned that a Canadian citizen has died in Iran at the hands of the Iranian authorities," Canada's Foreign Minister Anita Anand said on X, giving no further details.

She added that Tehran's response to the "peaceful protests" has "led the regime to flagrantly disregard human life."

Geneva: A local Red Crescent staff member was killed and five others wounded while on duty in Iran, which is gripped by widespread protests, the global Red Cross federation said Thursday.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said the incident happened in northwestern Iran and voiced deep concern about the impact of the ongoing unrest.

"The IFRC is deeply saddened by the killing of Amir Ali Latifi... and the wounding of five other IRCS colleagues, who were all in the line of duty in Gilan province, on January 10," the federation said in a statement from its Geneva headquarters.

An IFRC spokesman told AFP that at this stage, "we don't know the full picture of what exactly happened", including whether the deaths and the injuries were part of the same incident.

The IFRC is the world's largest humanitarian network, with more than 17 million volunteers in more than 191 countries.

"The Iranian Red Crescent Society is a humanitarian organisation... operating in accordance with the fundamental principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence," the federation said.

"We stand in solidarity with the Iranian Red Crescent Society and all medical and humanitarian workers providing life-saving assistance during this difficult time. Humanitarian workers must be protected."

It said respect for the Red Crescent emblem was essential to ensure the continued delivery of life-saving assistance to people in need.

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman led efforts to talk US President Donald Trump out of an attack on Iran, fearing "grave blowbacks in the region", a senior Saudi official told AFP on Thursday.

The Gulf trio "led a long, frantic, diplomatic last-minute effort to convince President Trump to give Iran a chance to show good intention", the official said on condition of anonymity, adding that dialogue was continuing.

Some personnel were moved out of a major US military base in Qatar on Wednesday, and staff at US missions in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait were warned to exercise caution as fears mounted of a US attack over Iran's crackdown on protesters.

The United States has repeatedly warned it could intervene against a deadly Iranian government crackdown on protests, while Tehran has said it would retaliate with strikes on US military and shipping targets.

Many US bases and assets are located in the Gulf.

But after several threats Trump changed course, saying he had received assurances from "very important sources on the other side" that Iran would not execute demonstrators.

The Gulf efforts aimed to "avoid an uncontrollable situation in the region", the Saudi official said.

"We told Washington that an attack on Iran would open the way for a series of grave blowbacks in the region," the official added.

"It was a sleepless night to defuse more bombs in the region... the communication is still underway to consolidate the gained trust and the current good spirit."

Another Gulf official said "the message conveyed to Iran has been that an attack on US facilities in the Gulf would have consequences on relations with countries in the region".

China's top diplomat told his Iranian counterpart in a phone call on Thursday that Beijing opposed "the use or threat of force in international relations", Beijing's foreign ministry said.

The call between Wang Yi and Tehran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi came after US President Donald Trump said he was considering military action against Iran, rocked by protests for weeks.

"China... opposes the use or threat of force in international relations, opposes countries imposing their own will on other countries," Wang told Araghchi, adding that China was "willing to play a constructive role" toward a resolution.

Iran will defend itself 'against any foreign threat,' the country's foreign minister told his Saudi counterpart, as Washington refuses to rule out military strikes over the Iranian crackdown on protesters.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Saudi's Faisal bin Farhan in telephone talks of the importance of 'global condemnation of foreign interference in the internal affairs of regional countries', according to a statement on his Telegram channel.

The Saudi Press Agency confirmed the talks, saying "they discussed developments in the region and how to enhance its security and stability".

Turkey on Thursday said it opposes a military operation against Iran, as US President Donald Trump had repeatedly talked about coming to the aid of the Iranian people over the crackdown on protests.

"We're against a military operation against Iran. We believe the authentic problems of Iran should be resolved by themselves," Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told journalists in Istanbul.

He said that Iran's economic grievances were "misunderstood as an uprising against" the Islamic republic.

The protests, which rights groups say has left at least 3,428 people dead, have seen thousands of people take to the streets in all corners of Iran against a government with low tolerance for dissent.

The Iranian government was already battling an economic crisis after years of sanctions and recovering from the June war against Israel.

Fidan called for dialogue to the crisis.

"We absolutely want problems to be resolved through dialogue," he said.

"Hopefully, the United States and Iran will resolve this issue among themselves - whether through mediators, other actors, or direct dialogue. We are closely following these developments."

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.

Erfan Soltani is imprisoned in Karaj outside Tehran after his arrest and is facing charges of propaganda against Iran's Islamic system and acting against national security, the judiciary said in a statement carried by state TV.

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 reopened its airspace on Thursday after a nearly five-hour closure that disrupted flights amid heightened concerns of potential military action involving the US, Reuters reported.

The country had closed its airspace to all flights except international services to and from Iran with official permission at 5.15pm ET (2215 GMT on Wednesday), according to a notice posted on the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) website. The closure forced some airlines to cancel, reroute, or delay flights.

Some domestic flights have begun to reappear in Iranian skies this morning, several hours after the country’s airspace was closed to all traffic without prior authorisation.

The resumption of activity was noted by a global flight tracket on Thursday morning, showing several commercial aircraft airborne and bound for airports in Tehran. This follows a period of significant restriction where only international civil arrivals and departures with specific permission from the Iran Civil Aviation Authority were permitted to operate.

According to monitoring service Flightradar24, the shift occurred after a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) closing the airspace expired, allowing carriers to begin navigating toward the capital once more.

The initial closure had been confirmed by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Wednesday, which stated that the restrictions applied to the majority of flights transiting the region.

Major Indian airlines Air India, IndiGo, and SpiceJet on Thursday informed of rerouting some of their international flights as Iran shut down its airspace.

Iran, which is facing widespread protests, had ordered the closure of its airspace to commercial aircraft without any explanation.

As a result, Air India had to cancel its early morning flights, such as Delhi-New York JFK (AI 101), Delhi-Newark (AI 105), and Mumbai-JFK (AI 119). The return flights were also cancelled.

IndiGo's Baku-Delhi flight, slated for early morning, had to return to the Azerbaijan capital within an hour as it was to overfly Iran after crossing the Caspian Sea.

India's foreign ministry has urged its citizens to leave Iran, where rights groups say a crackdown on mass protests has killed and arrested thousands of people.

India's foreign ministry estimates there are usually around 10,000 citizens in Iran.

"Indian nationals who are currently in Iran (students, pilgrims, business persons and tourists) are advised to leave Iran by available means of transport," the Indian Embassy in Tehran said, in a post on social media.

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.

Oil prices plunged on Thursday after fears over instability in Iran were eased by comments from US President Donald Trump.

West Texas Intermediate dropped 3.0 percent to $60.16 per barrel while Brent crude was down 2.93 percent to $64.57, after Trump said he had been told the killings of protesters in Iran had been halted.

In a surprise announcement at the White House, the US president added that he would "watch it and see" about threatened military action.

"They've said the killing has stopped and the executions won't take place - there were supposed to be a lot of executions today and that the executions won't take place - and we're going to find out," he said.

As tensions remain high amid protests in Iran, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi launched a scathing attack on US President Donald Trump, warning Washington not to repeat the past mistake, referring to American strikes against three nuclear facilities in Iran as part of a 12-day Iran-Israel war in June, 2025.

Responding to a question from Fox News host Bret Baier on whether he had a message for President Trump, who is considering some kind of action to help the protesters on the ground, the Iranian Foreign Minister said, "My message is do not repeat the same mistake that you did in June," the Iranian Foreign Minister said. "You know, if you try a failed experience, you will get the same result."

"You know in June, you destroyed the facilities, the machines, but the technology cannot be bombed. And the determination also cannot be bombed," Abbas Araghchi said.

FM Araghchi further said that Iran has always been ready for negotiations and diplomacy, further accusign the US of always escaping it.

"Now Iran proved to be ready for negotiation and diplomacy...we have proved that in the past 20 years, but it was the US who always escaped from the diplomacy, who cut the diplomacy and opted for war. My message is between war and diplomacy; diplomacy is a better way... although we do not have a positive response from the US. But still, diplomacy is much better than War," he said.

Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation early Thursday as tensions remained high with the United States over Tehran's bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.

The closure ran for over four hours, according to pilot guidance issued by Iran, which lies on a key East-West flight route. International carriers diverted north and south around Iran, but after one extension, the closure appeared to have expired and several domestic flights were in the air just after 7am.

"Several airlines have already reduced or suspended services, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace," said the website SafeAirspace, which provides information on conflict areas and air travel. "The situation may signal further security or military activity, including the risk of missile launches or heightened air defence, increasing the risk of misidentification of civil traffic."

The UK has temporarily closed its embassy in Tehran and withdrawn all diplomatic staff, citing a worsening security situation as tensions escalate following Iran's violent crackdown on protests and mounting speculation over possible US military action.

Confirming the move, the UK Foreign Office said, "We have temporarily closed the British Embassy in Tehran. This will now operate remotely."

It added that British staff had been withdrawn due to the prevailing security situation.

US Senator Lindsey Graham met the exiled crown prince of Iran, Reza Pahlavi and reiterated Washington's support for the Iranian people against a "brutal regime" in Tehran.

In a video message posted on X, Graham said that it would be up to the citizens of Iran to decide who they pick as their next leader.

"Senator Lindsey Graham here with the Crown Prince of Iran. I have followed you, your passion, the way you articulate the hope of your people. It will be up to the people of Iran to pick their next leader. I can't wait until they have a chance to do that. But you have really risen to the occasion. Compelling narrative for the long-suffering people of Iran. And I believe with all my heart that help is on the way," US Senator said.

"We stand with the people of Iran and against the brutal regime. Make Iran Great Again," the post read.

Further, the exiled crown prince of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, asserted that the Iranian people would get complete freedom, and the choice would be theirs this time.

"Senator, thank you so much for all your words of support for my compatriots in the darkest time in our history. But hopefully, as we say in Iran, in Farsi, the end of a dark night is light. And this is probably the first time we are so close to victory. You witnessed the resilience of my compatriots. They are fighting a brave fight, and any solidarity can only help them achieve that goal sooner," Pahlavi said in a video message.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said there would not be any "hanging today or tomorrow," despite earlier vows from Tehran to fast-track trials for protesters.

In an interview with US broadcaster Fox News, Araghchi insisted that 10 days of peaceful demonstrations over Iran's economic hardships were followed by three days of violence orchestrated by Israel, and calm had been restored.

"I can tell you, I'm confident that there is no plan for hanging," Araghchi said.

US President Donald Trump was quoted as saying by AFP on Wednesday that he had been told that "executions" had stopped in Iran.

During an event at the White House, Trump said he had been told on "good authority" that the "killing in Iran is stopping. It's stopped...and there's no plan for executions," without providing further details.

Spain's foreign ministry on Wednesday urged its citizens to leave Iran, where rights groups say a crackdown on mass protests has killed hundreds of people and caused thousands of arrests.

"Spaniards who are in Iran are recommended to leave the country making use of the available means," the ministry said in an updated travel advisory quoted by AFP.

Iran's top judge hinted at fast trials and executions for those who were detained in nationwide protests against the country's theocracy, even as activists said Wednesday that the death toll rose to levels unseen in decades, with at least 2,586 people killed so far.

Iran's judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, made the comments about trials and executions in a video Tuesday, despite a warning from US President Donald Trump that he would "take very strong action" if executions take place, reported AP.

Iranian demonstrators' ability to get details of nationwide protests out to the world has been given a strong boost, with SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service dropping its fees to allow more people to circumvent the Tehran government's strongest attempt ever to prevent information from spilling outside its borders, activists said Wednesday.

The move by the American aerospace company run by Elon Musk follows the complete shutdown of telecommunications and internet access to Iran's 85 million people on Jan. 8.

The G7 nations on Wednesday were "deeply alarmed at the high level of reported deaths and injuries" in a protest crackdown in Iran. AFP reported that the nations said they were ready to impose more sanctions if the violence continued.

"The members of the G7 remain prepared to impose additional restrictive measures if Iran continues to crack down on protests and dissent in violation of international human rights obligations," the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, as well as and the high representative of the European Union, said in a joint statement.

Dubai: Saudi Arabia has told Iran it will not allow its airspace or territory to be used to harm it, two sources close to the kingdom's government told AFP on Wednesday.

The United States began withdrawing personnel from key Middle East bases, a US official told Reuters this evening, calling it a precautionary posture change.

The move followed warnings from Tehran that it would strike American bases in the region if Washington intervened militarily in Iran.

The unrest has led to significant travel disruptions, cancelled flights and foreign governments issuing safety warnings for their citizens.

The situation has led to widespread transport interruptions and communications blackouts, prompting foreign ministries worldwide to reassess travel guidance for their nationals.

Among those urging people to avoid non-essential travel are US, India, Canada, Kuwait, and Pakistan.

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Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, called on the UN secretary-general and the Security Council to denounce the United States for provoking violence and issuing threats of military action against Iran.

In a letter sent to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Somalia’s UN ambassador Abukar Dahir Osman, the Security Council’s rotating president for January, Iravani alleged that US President Donald Trump is inciting violence within Iran.