Israel planned to target Iranian negotiators to derail talks, US acted to prevent it – report

The administration of US President Donald Trump believed Israel had planned to assassinate senior Iranian negotiators, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, while Washington was engaged in sensitive talks with Tehran aimed at securing an agreement to end the war, The New York Times reported, citing informed US sources.

The sources said the US administration intervened to stop Israel from carrying out the alleged plans.

A US official told the newspaper that the Trump administration learned at the time that Ghalibaf was, at the very least, on an Israeli target list, and asked Israel not to target him.

According to the sources, targeting senior Iranian leaders had been part of Israel’s strategy since the start of the war. However, US concerns grew in particular over the possible targeting of Araghchi and Ghalibaf during ceasefire negotiations that began in April.

The sources added that, fearing any assassination could derail the talks, the United States asked other countries in the region to warn Iran that Israel might target the two officials.

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