The family of Erfan Soltani can breathe—for now. Iranian authorities have postponed the execution of the 26-year-old protester, just hours before he was set to face the gallows. The stay comes amid intense international pressure and threats of US intervention.

Soltani, a shop assistant arrested during anti-regime protests, had been sentenced to death in a sham trial without legal representation. "I haven't slept in two days," a relative told the Guardian. "The uncertainty is killing us." Rights groups warn the reprieve may be temporary, a cynical pawn move in Tehran’s high-stakes chess game with the West.