PNN – Citing U.S. officials, The New York Times has revealed a plot by the Zionist regime to assassinate Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during negotiations with the United States.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, The New York Times—citing current and former U.S. officials—revealed that during talks held last spring between the U.S. and Iran aimed at reaching an interim agreement, there were serious concerns in Washington that Tel Aviv might attempt to assassinate Abbas Araghchi and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf—the Foreign Minister and Parliament Speaker, respectively, and two prominent members of Iran’s negotiating team.
According to the report, as the negotiations that began in April progressed, U.S. concerns mounted; U.S. officials believed Israel might view these two high-ranking figures as legitimate targets during the war, yet they warned that eliminating them at this critical stage of the talks could lead to the collapse of negotiations and a resumption of hostilities.
According to The New York Times, tensions between Washington and Tel Aviv had escalated at that time. While the Donald Trump administration was attempting to pursue all diplomatic avenues to reach an agreement with Tehran, Israel remained skeptical about a truce and the continuation of negotiations in their early stages; consequently, the United States asked several regional countries to convey warnings to Iran regarding the possibility of an Israeli strike.
The report states that in late March, Israel and the United States temporarily removed the names of Araghchi and Ghalibaf from their lists of assassination targets for a few days to pave the way for the resumption of negotiations. Since then, a ceasefire has been established, a memorandum of understanding has been signed, and contacts between the two sides have continued.
Although the Zionist regime has so far refrained from offering any explanation or official comment regarding this revelation, it has never concealed its desperate attempts to assassinate senior officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran.