‘The Killing Hasn’t Stopped’: Iranian-Born Expert Rejects Trump Claim on Fox News

The Middle East Institute’s Nazee Moinian rejected the claim that “the killing in Iran is stopping” — repeated by President Donald Trump — during a Thursday afternoon appearance on Fox News’ America Reports.

After noting that Moinian was born in Iran, but fled it with her family during the Islamic Revolution, anchor John Roberts played a clip of Trump speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday:

TRUMP: We’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping

… And there’s no plan for executions, or an execution, or executions. So, I’ve been told that on good authority. We’ll find out about it. I’m sure if it happens, we’ll all be very upset. Including you will be very upset. But that’s just gotten to me, some information, that the killing has stopped, that the executions have stopped.

“Obviously the killing stopping would be a very good thing. Is that stopping the protesting?” inquired Roberts.

“Well, thank you, John. The killing hasn’t stopped. I think what the president is referring to is the hanging of Erfan Soltani. He was a 26-year-old protester who was scheduled to be hanged today, and that’s been postponed indefinitely by the Islamic regime, probably because they don’t want to antagonize the president further and invite kinetic action,” answered Moinian, who continued:

But here’s what I think is going on. I think the president is rightly trying to do good on his promise to the Iranians, while trying to placate the Saudis, and the Omanis, and Arab Gulf states because they’re afraid that instability will pour over to their regions, and it will shock the oil markets, and it’ll anger the ayatollahs. All three worries are valid, I mean, all politics are local after all.

The problem that I see here is that there are two ways, there are two problems here. One is that any bold foreign policy adventure vis-à-vis Iran by this president has paid dividends and continues to pay dividends. The removal of the U.S. as a party to the JCPOA in 2018, the killing of Qasem Soleimani in 2020 and the bombing of Fordow, Natanz, and other facilities in Iran in 2025 all have weakened the regime to the point that it used to be paranoid and murderous, now it’s panicky and murderous.

“So the point that a lot of people are making is that there seemed to be a moment that was building where if you push the regime in just the right way with just the right force, it may topple over. It would appear that President Trump is not choosing that path at this moment. What do you think about that?” followed up Roberts.

“He’s not choosing that path at this moment, but this is a president that holds his cards closely to his chest while keeping his adversary gingerly on their toes. So I don’t know what’s going on in the president’s head. No one can claim that,” replied Moinian. “This is a president that likes the element of surprise. But I also know that his legacy matters. He’s a friend of the Iranian people, and he wants to stand on the right side of history.”

Watch above via Fox News.