Overview
- Axios reports President Trump postponed a potential attack after Prime Minister Netanyahu warned U.S. forces lacked sufficient regional defenses, with further decisions still under review.
- The Institute for the Study of War and AP say visible demonstrations have sharply ebbed, including no recent protests in Tehran, as authorities impose rolling internet shutdowns and intensify repression.
- Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei acknowledged for the first time that protest deaths reached ‘thousands,’ accused the United States and Israel of causing the losses, and labeled Trump a criminal.
- A U.S.-based rights group, HRA, estimates more than 3,300 killed and over 24,000 detained, figures that are difficult to independently verify due to information controls.
- Trump told Politico it is time to find a new leader for Iran, following earlier calls encouraging protesters and public praise for reported halts to planned executions, as the U.S. repositioned forces to the region.