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U.S. officials believed Israel plotted to kill Iranian negotiators

newsJul 2, 202616673

The New York Times reported that U.S. officials believed Israel was plotting to assassinate Iran’s negotiators Abbas Araghchi and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf while Washington held delicate talks with Tehran this spring. U.S. officials feared an Israeli assassination effort would doom negotiations and asked regional countries to warn Iran so the two officials would take precautions, the report says. Sample posts add that Israeli fighter jets entered Iranian airspace as the negotiators flew home in April, forcing their plane to make an emergency landing and prompting them to complete the trip to Tehran by land. The talks in Doha were described as indirect, technical discussions with Qatari and Pakistani mediators working on implementing an interim memorandum of understanding, with reopening the Strait of Hormuz a key sticking point. The United States’ warning to Iran and its requests that regional states alert Tehran were intended to protect the negotiators and preserve the fragile process.

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