Donald Trump was persuaded not to strike Iran on Wednesday night by the last-minute diplomatic efforts of Persian Gulf states and Israel.

Speaking by phone to NBC News, Trump didn't say whether he has decided to take action on Iran following previous threats of military intervention over a crackdown on protesters.

More than 2,500 people have died during nationwide protests in Iran over the past 17 days, activists said Wednesday.

The report came after the US appeared to shift towards diplomatic means of pressure to stop the Iranian crackdown on protesters. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally asked US President Donald Trump to hold off on a US military attack on Iran,

Top Trump administration officials met Tuesday to further refine a set of options for the president to take action against Iran amid its deadly crackdown on protesters.

The president's top national security advisers met Tuesday to consider action against Iran over its crackdown on protesters.

President Donald Trump says he’s been told “on good authority” that plans for executions in Iran have stopped, even as Tehran has signaled fast trials and executions ahead in its crackdown on protesters.

US President Donald Trump indicated Wednesday that Iran has backed away from executing a detained Iranian protester for joining anti-government demonstrations after his case drew the attention of human rights activists and the US State Department.

The president has told his advisers he would want any action to deliver a decisive blow to the Iranian regime, but so far he hasn't gotten that guarantee from them, sources say.

President Trump expressed uncertainty over whether Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi would be able to muster support in Iran to eventually take over.

"There is only the slow, uncertain task of granting Iranians leverage over their own future and the moral imperative not to squander their courage in yet another Middle Eastern misadventure," writes A