Watch: Trump praises Iran for canceling hundreds of executions

President Donald Trump took the unusual step on Friday when he praised the Iranian government for not pursuing the executions of what he said were supposed to be hundreds of political prisoners.

Watch Trump’s remarks in the video player above.

“Iran has canceled the execution of more than 800 people,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. “And I very much respect the fact that they canceled,” he added.

Read more: The prayer leader in Iran and the believers call for the execution of the demonstrators, a red line for Trump

The sentiment comes after Trump spent days suggesting that the United States might strike Iran militarily if its government causes mass killings during the widespread protests that have swept that country.

Activists say that the death toll in these protests continues to rise. However, Trump appears to be suggesting that the prospects for US military action are fading since Iran has halted executions.

In response to a question about who convinced him to back down from what appeared to be a strike on Iran, Trump said: “No one convinced me. I convinced myself.”

Trump said: “Yesterday, you scheduled more than 800 hangings. They did not hang anyone.” “They abolished hangings. That had a huge impact.”

The president also appeared to back away from his threat to invoke the Insurrection Act and deploy troops to quell protests in Minneapolis, saying on Friday there was no reason to use it “at this time.”

He watches: Explain the powers of the Insurrection Act as Trump threatens to use it

“If I need it, I’ll use it,” the president told reporters on Friday. “I don’t think there’s any reason now to use it, but if I need it, I’ll use it. It’s very powerful.”

Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke the 1807 Act as protests continued in the city against federal officers carrying out his sweeping anti-immigration crackdown. A man was shot Wednesday by an immigration officer who was attacked with a shovel and broom.

This shooting has increased fear and anger since a federal agent shot Renee Judd last week.

When asked about his meeting Thursday with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who presented Trump with the Nobel Peace Prize, Trump called her a “very good woman” and said they would talk again.

He watches: Machado presents Trump with the Nobel Prize amid uncertainty surrounding the Venezuelan leadership

When asked why he wanted the Nobel Peace Prize from someone else, Trump said he would keep it because Machado “offered it” to him.

“I thought it was a very nice gesture,” Trump said.

The president claims to have ended eight wars, and said Maria Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader, told him that no one deserved the award more than him.

Trump and Machado met at the White House on Thursday. The organization that supervises the Nobel Peace Prize recently said that the award cannot be cancelled, transferred, or shared with others once it is announced.