The Washington Post published a detailed report exposing the behind-the-scenes drama in the White House that led to President Donald Trump abruptly calling off a planned military strike on Iran.
Kabul 24: According to the account, senior Trump administration officials were on the brink of launching an attack late Wednesday night. The turning point came from a single text message sent by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy.
In the message, Araghchi reportedly assured the U.S. side that the Iranian government had no intention of carrying out executions of detainees arrested during the nationwide protests. Reports of planned mass executions (some sources mentioned up to 800 cases) were false or had been canceled.
This communication dramatically de-escalated the crisis atmosphere inside the White House.Shortly afterward, Trump told reporters at the White House: “We’ll wait and see what happens.” A U.S. official later confirmed to the Washington Post that the CIA verified on Thursday that no executions had taken place.
At the same time, Iranian officials had detected significant U.S. military movements and equipment repositioning in the region, leading Tehran to believe a strike was imminent.
In response, Iran privately warned neighboring countries that any American attack would trigger a far more severe and calculated retaliation than previous exchanges.
Several key regional states — including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates — simultaneously contacted the White House and urged Trump to stand down.
They warned that military action against Iran could unleash massive security and economic consequences across the Middle East.
The combination of Araghchi’s calming text message, confirmation from U.S. intelligence, intense pressure from Gulf and Arab capitals, and the specter of devastating Iranian retaliation ultimately convinced Trump to pull back from the edge and postpone — at least temporarily — what could have been one of the most consequential military decisions of his presidency.
