U.S. president calls decision a “very good” gesture during ongoing negotiations, while Iranian sources dispute details and confirm separate execution case
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday what he described as “very good news,” saying a group of Iranian women would no longer face execution after he personally pushed for clemency, framing the move as a sign of goodwill amid ongoing talks.
Trump expressed gratitude to Iran on social media for sparing the women from the death penalty.
“I have just been informed that the eight women protestors who were going to be executed tonight in Iran will no longer be killed,” he wrote on Truth Social.
According to Trump, four of the women will be immediately released, while the remaining four will receive one-month prison sentences.
“I very much appreciate that Iran, and its leaders, respected my request, as President of the United States, and terminated the planned execution,” he added.
The president first highlighted the case after reposting a message from pro-Israel activist Eyal Yakoby, which included images of the eight women and warned they were at risk of being hanged.
Trump had previously indicated that halting the executions would be a “good start to negotiations” amid the ongoing U.S.-Israel conflict involving Iran. He also recently announced an extension of the ceasefire with Iran as efforts continue to end the conflict that began on Feb. 28.
The White House said Trump directly intervened after the case came to his attention.
“Only President Trump could save the lives of these 8 beautiful Iranian women. I understand this news story about the scheduled execution of these women came across @POTUS' desk, and he made that direct plea, and the Iranians have answered, and have agreed not to execute them,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an interview with Fox News.
Meanwhile, an Iranian opposition leader criticized European countries on Wednesday for failing to do enough to stop executions in Iran, following another execution that critics described as part of a wartime crackdown on dissent.
Iran’s judiciary-linked outlet Mizan reported that a man convicted of spying for Israel’s intelligence service and passing sensitive information had been executed.
The same outlet dismissed Trump’s claim that the executions of the eight women had been halted as “false news,” stating that some of the women had already been released while others still face charges that could lead to prison sentences.
