Israel considered assassinating the two main Iranian negotiators during talks with the United States

While the United States tried to keep the diplomatic channel with Iran open, Israel would have considered assassinating the two main Iranian negotiators: Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. This is revealed by The New York Times, which cites US officials according to whom Washington feared during April and May that any attack against these leaders would blow up negotiations that were advancing with extreme fragility.Araghchi and Ghalibaf are central figures in the talks between the United States and Iran to consolidate the ceasefire, guarantee the security of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, and open the door to future negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.Already in March, the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal reported that Araghchi and Ghalibaf were on a list of Israeli targets, although they would have been removed when Washington began to explore a diplomatic exit with Tehran. In the same vein, an American official cited by the New York Times assured that the Trump administration knew that, at least in Ghalibaf's case, Israel considered him a potential target and explicitly asked the Israeli government not to act against him.Washington's concern reached the point that the White House reportedly asked several countries in the region to warn Tehran of the risk that its negotiators could become Israeli targets.Tension became palpable in April, when Ghalibaf was due to travel to Islamabad to meet with the Vice President of the United States, J.D. Vance. Iranian authorities feared that Israel would take advantage of the trip to assassinate him and, for this reason, the Iranian delegation was escorted by Pakistani fighter jets both on the outward and return journeys. Despite these measures, two sources cited by the New York Times assure that, during the return flight to Tehran, Iranian intelligence services alerted that two Israeli fighter jets had penetrated Iran's airspace. Faced with the threat, the plane carrying Ghalibaf made an emergency landing and the delegation completed the last eight hours of the journey by road.Israel does not want the agreement

In recent months, the United States has held indirect talks to reach a negotiated exit to the conflict, but Israel continues to show deep skepticism towards any agreement with Iran. The most critical sectors consider that no deal will be sufficient if it does not also limit Iran's ballistic missile program and Tehran's network of allies.In this climate of mistrust, Ghalibaf warned this Thursday that Iran will respond “proportionately” if the United States and Israel fail to comply with the memorandum of understanding reached last month. His statements coincide with the preparations for the funeral of the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, who died in an Israeli attack on the first day of the war, February 28. The commemorative events will begin this Saturday and will last until July 9, and between 15 and 20 million people are expected to attend.