Trump praises Iran for cancelling executions of protesters

U.S. President Donald Trump said he welcomed Iran’s decision to cancel a large number of scheduled executions.

"I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings, which were to take place yesterday (Over 800 of them), have been cancelled by the leadership of Iran. Thank you!" Trump said.

Trump has repeatedly voiced support for protesters in Iran and sharply criticized Iranian authorities’ handling of the demonstrations, which began on Dec. 28 in Tehran, over the sharp depreciation of the Iranian rial and worsening economic conditions. Demonstrations later spread to several other cities.

Earlier, it was reported that as many as 3,000 people have been detained for allegedly inciting unrest or provoking demonstrations across Iran. But rights groups report more than 19,000 were detained. The Human Rights Activists News Agency put the death toll from demonstrations at 2,797.