On Thursday, The New York Times revealed that US officials had indirectly warned Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf during an negotiations earlier this year that Israel might try to assassinate them.
The report which references current and former US officials alleges that some officials believed Israel might have been planning to kill the top Iran’s negotiators in the wake of the ceasefire that halted hostilities in the US-Israel war with Iran.
According to the report, the US officials asked mediators in other countries to warn Tehran that Israel might make an effort to target the two men.
Meanwhile, officials cited by the Times noted that the conflict began on February 28, and Israel worked its way through killing much of Iran’s senior leadership. Notably, both Araghchi and Ghalibaf could have been legitimate targets.
Israel had already killed other Iranian officials who could have mediated a conflict resolution, including national security chief Ali Larijani and former foreign minister Kamal Kharrazi.
In early April, a ceasefire was declared when Araghchi and Ghalibaf began representing Iran’s position in the negotiations. The US officials said any plot to attempt assassination likely have disrupted the talks and triggered new fighting.
The reports further showed that a tangible Israeli threat against Ghalibaf emerged again while the Iranian parliament speaker was traveling back to Iran from Islamabad after key talks with a US JD Vice President Vance on April 12.
It was observed that Iran feared an Israeli assassination attempt and arranged for Pakistan fighter jets to accompany the Iranian delegation from the Iranian border to Islamabad. Iranian security forces advised Ghalibaf’s aircraft indicated an imminent attack, and that two Israeli fighter jets had entered Iran’s airspace from Iraq.
Additionally, the report underlines, citing Iranian officials that the plane made a forced landing in Mashhad, northeastern Iran, and that Ghalibaf and the rest of his delegation returned to Tehran by completing an eight-hour drive.
While Israel is officially a sovereign state and a major US partner, it acts so aggressively in its obsession to undermine US diplomacy that it even tries to assassinate the fluctuating figures the US engages with in significant negotiations.
