White House Says Iran Has Halted 800 Planned Executions, ‘All Options Remain on the Table’

[Financial News] The White House on the 15th (local time) again warned of “severe consequences if the killings continue” in connection with the Iranian government’s harsh crackdown on anti-government demonstrators. By reaffirming its existing stance that it will not rule out the possibility of military action, tensions surrounding the situation in the Middle East are once again on the rise.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing that day, “President Donald Trump understands that the 800 executions that had been scheduled for yesterday have been halted,” adding, “The president and his team are closely monitoring this situation.” Leavitt went on, “The president and his team have been communicating with the Iranian regime, delivering the message that ‘if the killings continue, there will be serious consequences.’”
Leavitt also stated that “all options remain on the table,” making it clear that the possibility of a military response against Iran is not being ruled out. She said that President Trump and Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu had spoken by phone about the situation in Iran, but did not disclose the specific details of their conversation.
Earlier, The New York Times (NYT), citing senior U.S. officials, reported that Benjamin Netanyahu had asked President Trump to postpone plans for a military strike on Iran. The report suggests that while the United States and the State of Israel are working closely together on the Iran issue, there are subtle differences in temperature over the timing and scale of any response.
Meanwhile, regarding the controversy over Danish territory Greenland, Leavitt drew a clear line, saying that the deployment of troops by major European countries “does not affect the president’s decision-making or his objective of securing Greenland.” She stressed, “The president’s position that the United States must secure Greenland is clear, and he believes this is most beneficial to U.S. national security.”
As the United States even raises the possibility of military action to annex Greenland, Denmark, France, Germany and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) began deploying troops to Greenland the previous day. Although these countries have cited training purposes under the name ‘Operation Arctic Endurance,’ some observers interpret the move as a political message from key European NATO members that they cannot tolerate a coercive U.S. attempt to annex Greenland.
Leavitt described the high-level talks held the previous day at the White House among the United States, Denmark and Greenland as “productive,” while hinting that no substantive common ground had yet been found. The talks were attended by Vice President of the United States James David Vance (JD Vance), United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenlandic Minister of Foreign Affairs Vivian Motzfeldt. They agreed to form a working group and continue discussions at intervals of two to three weeks.
Tensions also ran high in the briefing room over domestic issues. Leavitt engaged in a public verbal clash with a reporter over the case of Renee Nicole Good, a woman in her 30s who was shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minnesota. When a reporter criticized ICE’s immigration enforcement operations as excessive, Leavitt fired back, asking, “Why was Renee Good tragically killed?”
When the reporter replied, “Because the ICE agent acted recklessly,” Leavitt shot back, “You are a biased reporter with a left-wing perspective,” and added, “You pretend to be a journalist, but in reality you are a left-wing activist.” She further pressed the point by asking, “Do you know how many American citizens have been killed at the hands of illegal immigrants whom ICE is trying to deport?” emphasizing the legitimacy of ICE’s activities.
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km@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-min Reporter