Trump Appears To De-Escalate Iran Rhetoric, ‘Killing Has Stopped’ – Oil Tumbles

There are reports that President Trump is listening to the non-interventionists in his cabinet, as he says Thursday afternoon he’s been told that the killing in Iran is stopping, and with no plan for executions. WTI futures immediately dropped on the newswires: 

• WTI fell from USD 62.30 to lows of 59.80/bbl over 7 minutes.
• Brent fell from 66.80 to 64.20 over the same time frame.
• With Trump noting Iran has no plans for executions, it drastically reduces the chances of the US attacking Iran, particularly a kinetic attack.
• Expectations of an attack had been building today with reports suggesting it could happen within 24 hours, which saw crude gain throughout the session; several nations urged citizens to leave Iran.
• S&P 500 ENERGY INDEX PARES GAINS AFTER TRUMP IRAN COMMENTS

Via Bloomberg… Trump has an “out” and Iran strikes appear to be off:

President Donald Trump said he had been assured that Iran would stop killing protesters, in a signal he could hold off on a threatened military response to the repression of widespread demonstrations in the nation. “We’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping – it’s stopped,” Trump told reporters Wednesday in the Oval Office. “And there’s no plan for executions or an execution.”

The US president said he would be “very upset” if the information proved untrue and the violent crackdown continued. The comments come after Trump urged Iranians to continue protests against the government of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and said he would “act accordingly” after being briefed on how many demonstrators have been killed. He posted on social media that “help is on the way” to those protesting in Iran.

Dangerous indicators there was (before this ‘change of mind’) about to be a strike?

The bulk of the US Navy’s strike group has remained in the Caribbean Sea after the Trump-ordered Venezuela operation to oust Maduro, and there’s as yet nothing to signal a new build-up of naval power in the Mediterranean or anywhere in the Central Command (CENTCOM) area of operations. However there are signs that logistics transport flights have increased.

However, there are other signs President Trump might be serious about an attack on Iran. Various news sources including Reuters is reporting Wednesday that the United States is pulling some staff out of major regional bases as a precaution amid rising tensions related to the Iran protests and a potential US military response.

This comes after a senior Iranian official earlier stated that Tehran has warned neighboring countries hosting US forces that American bases would be targeted if Washington launched strikes.

Reuters writes, “Earlier today, some personnel were advised to leave the US military’s Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar by this evening. Al Udeid is the Middle East’s largest US base, housing around 10,000 troops. Ahead of the US airstrikes on Iran in June some personnel were moved off US bases in the Middle East.”

In the last instance where Iran faced attack by the US and Israel, Iran launched ballistic missiles at Al Udeid Air Base outside Doha. All or most were intercepted, with no reports of troop casualties. This attack occurred on June 23, one day after the US struck three Iranian nuclear facilities with deep penetrating bunker-buster bombs.

The aforementioned warning from a senior Iranian official stated as follows: “Tehran has told regional countries, from Saudi Arabia and the UAE to Turkey, that US bases in those countries will be attacked if the US targets Iran.”

While the week started with talk of some kind of dialogue between Washington and Tehran toward de-escalation, Trump quickly changed his mind, and by Tuesday said he cancelled all meetings with Iranian officials, citing the brutal crackdown on protesters. He wrote on Truth Social that “help is on its way” for Iranians.

“Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price,” Trump wrote.

“I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY. MIGA [Make Iran Great Again]!!!” he added.

However, there’s ample evidence that many dozens of security personnel have been killed and wounded as well. Clearly in many locales rioters have deadly weapons, and Tehran says it is facing the beginnings of a foreign backed terror operation and insurgency.

Tehran Governor:

• 1,000 passenger cars and 26 administrative centers in Tehran province have been damaged

• Commercial shops, residential units, buses, ambulances, fire trucks, 44 mosques and Hosseiniyehs were damaged pic.twitter.com/nMXClOvnK7

— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) January 14, 2026

But it should be obvious by now that organizations like the CIA, MI6, and Mossad are constantly looking for ways to take advantage of the situation and destabilize the country, ripening it for regime change. Trump has just dodged another interventionist disaster in the Middle East by choosing not to pull the trigger.