Washington:
The United States and Israel have reportedly removed Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf from their hit list amid President Donald Trump’s call for talks with Tehran. Ghalibaf and Araghchi– two of Tehran’s top negotiators– were in Israel’s target when mediators from Pakistan, Turkey, and Egypt warned Washington that their assassination would likely burn all routes of a possible diplomatic end to the war, media reports said.
“The Israelis had their coordinates and wanted to take them out. We told the US that if they are also eliminated, then there is no one else to talk to, hence, the US asked the Israelis to back off,” a Pakistani source with knowledge of the discussions told news agency Reuters.
However, the relief is short-lived and comes with a deadline. Per a Wall Street Journal report, Ghalibaf and Araghchi have been removed from the target list for up to four or five days as Trump opens the door to high-level negotiations.
Mediators from Turkey, Pakistan and Egypt are pushing for negotiators from Washington and Tehran to meet over the next few days to discuss pausing the war for peace talks, but officials told WSJ the odds of success are low as there are major gaps between US and
About the Author
