At the last second, Iran's neighbors in the Middle East reportedly made President Trump change his mind.
Trump ally Benjamin Netanyahu was reportedly on the scene to thwart an attack, according to The New York Times and sources familiar with the matter. He reportedly called Trump shortly before Trump said he had received information from "very important sources on the other side" that Iran would not kill protesters.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman also "led a long, frantic, last-minute diplomatic effort" to convince Trump not to attack Iran, according to a senior Saudi official who spoke to AFP. Egypt is also said to be involved in the efforts to calm the situation.
An American military intervention in Iran would have risked serious consequences for the region, the countries are said to have insisted in talks with the United States.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that the Trump administration had heard from Iran that 800 executions scheduled for Wednesday had at least been postponed.
At the same time, she said the US can still strike Iran.
All options remain on the table, she said, warning of "serious consequences" if protesters are killed.
Corrected: In an earlier version of the text there was a misleading paragraph in the preamble.
