The New York Times: U.S. Warned Iran Privately Over Israel's Potential Assassination of Iranian Peace Negotiators

U.S. officials revealed that during Washington’s efforts to push for a ceasefire with Iran, American authorities were concerned that Israel might assassinate two key Iranian negotiators. To prevent the peace talks from collapsing, the United States conveyed warnings to Iran through Middle Eastern countries friendly to the U.S., alerting them to the potential risk of assassination.

According to exclusive reporting by the U.S. newspaper The New York Times, multiple current and former U.S. and Middle East officials stated that the U.S. was particularly worried about Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi being targeted. Both individuals are principal representatives in the U.S.-Iran ceasefire negotiations and remain actively engaged in diplomatic discussions within Iran’s leadership.

U.S. officials said there was no concrete evidence at the time that intelligence agencies had specific plans indicating Israel was about to carry out assassinations. However, considering Israel’s consistent targeting of Iranian senior leaders since the war began, U.S. officials deemed the risk too significant to ignore. If either of the two were assassinated during the negotiation period, not only would U.S.-Iran dialogue be interrupted, but tensions across the Middle East could escalate again—prompting the U.S. to issue indirect warnings via third parties.

A U.S. official said that contact between U.S. and Iranian representatives remains ongoing, and President Trump (Donald Trump) continues to hope that the peace process will advance.

Earlier this year, during a media interview, Trump refused to disclose which Iranian officials the U.S. was actually engaging. He said at the time: “I don’t want them killed.” He added: “You know, it’s actually kind of tricky. They’ve already cleared out everyone.”

The report noted that Israel had prioritized assassinating Iranian top leaders from the outset of the conflict, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, national security chief Ali Larijani, and former Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi, who were all reportedly killed. Some of these individuals had previously participated in contacts with U.S. officials.

U.S. officials pointed out that at the beginning of the conflict, both the U.S. and Israel shared the goal of weakening Iran’s regime and military capabilities. However, as Washington shifted focus toward pushing for a ceasefire, concerns grew that Israel’s continued assassinations of Iran’s decision-makers could undermine diplomatic efforts, leading to increasing divergence in their respective policies toward Iran.

According to the report, the U.S. learned in February this year that Israel had placed Ghalibaf and Araghchi on its assassination list. After ceasefire talks began in April, the U.S. formally requested Israel refrain from taking action against the two. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that Israel had temporarily removed both names from the hit list to align with U.S. diplomatic initiatives.

Iran also remained highly vigilant regarding these risks. In April, when Ghalibaf led a delegation to Islamabad, Pakistan, for pre-negotiation meetings, Iran feared the delegation might be attacked by Israel. Iran sought security assurances from the U.S. through intermediaries in Pakistan and Qatar.

According to sources, the Pakistani Air Force dispatched fighter jets to escort the plane carrying around 70 Iranian officials during their journey to and from Islamabad. However, during the return trip, Iranian military intelligence received warnings that Israel might attack the delegation’s aircraft, with two Israeli jets reportedly approaching Iranian airspace from Iraq.

Under heightened security alerts, the delegation’s aircraft did not fly directly back to Tehran. Instead, it made an emergency landing in Mashhad in northeastern Iran. The delegation then switched to ground transportation and traveled approximately eight hours to reach the capital. Mahdi Mohammadi, a counselor accompanying Ghalibaf on the trip, later confirmed that security warnings were indeed received during the return journey.

Despite facing assassination threats, Ghalibaf and Araghchi continued participating in negotiations. In late May, they traveled to Doha, and in June, they met again with a U.S. delegation led by Vice President J.D. Vance for a second round of face-to-face talks, continuing discussions on a memorandum of understanding for a lasting ceasefire.

Currently, the U.S. and Iran have signed a ceasefire memorandum agreeing to pursue a 60-day truce. However, critical issues such as Iran’s nuclear program, enriched uranium stockpiles, and follow-up security arrangements remain to be addressed in the next phase of negotiations. Despite the ceasefire agreement, both sides have recently carried out military actions, indicating that the situation remains fragile and the prospects for lasting peace remain uncertain.

The U.S.’s private warning to Iran reflects growing strategic differences between the Trump administration and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu over Iran policy. While Washington seeks stability through diplomacy, Israel continues advocating for military means to weaken Iran’s regime, making the rift between the two allies increasingly evident on the Iran issue.

Source: rfi

Original: toutiao.com/article/1869758664311819/

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