US President Donald Trump backed down at the last minute from ordering a strike on Iran, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Although the Pentagon was on full alert to strike on Wednesday, the US president "pressed on the brakes" after warnings that a large-scale attack would not guarantee the fall of the regime, but could ignite an uncontrollable regional war.
Decisive in this setback was the feverish lobbying of Israel and Arab countries, who feared direct retaliation in their territories.
On the ground, the toll of the suppression of protests has reached massacre proportions, now surpassing the figure of 3,400 killed. The nightmare of the families continues even after death, as the authorities are accused of demanding amounts of up to 7,000 dollars as a "service" for the handover of the bodies.
Many desperate parents are being forced to abandon their children's bodies in morgues, as they cannot afford to pay the staggering fines imposed by the state for burial.
In parallel, the regime has launched a massive operation to identify protesters participating in the riots.
Security forces are raiding homes and businesses to seize any security camera footage in the areas of the clashes.
At numerous checkpoints, citizens' phones are confiscated; anyone with images of protests or "suspicious" communications is immediately arrested, bringing the number of prisoners to over 12,000.