The Israeli authorities were planning an assassination attempt on Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the Speaker of the country’s parliament, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who led the delegation in negotiations with the United States. Several former and current US officials told the New York Times.
Araqchi and Qalibaf were on the list of senior Iranian officials and military personnel whom Israel planned to kill in order to change the regime in Iran. The Wall Street Journal in March booksAfter the start of negotiations between the United States and Iran, Araghchi and Qalibaf were temporarily removed from the Israeli target list.
Around the same time, according to New York Times interlocutors, the United States learned that at least Ghalibaf was still on the list, and asked Israel to refrain from any action. In addition, the American side, through third countries, transmitted information to Iran about plans to assassinate Ghalibaf.
Iran took this information seriously. In particular, before Ghalibaf’s trip to Pakistan for negotiations with the American delegation, Iran requested guarantees for its security from the United States.
At the same time, sources told the newspaper that the plane in which Ghalibaf was returning to Iran after negotiations in Pakistan may have been planning to attack Israeli fighters. The Iranian military reportedly spotted Israeli Air Force fighters in the country’s airspace. The plane carrying Ghalibaf landed urgently at the airport closest to the border, and the Iranian delegation traveled from there to Tehran by land for eight hours.
The United States and Israel began launching strikes on Iran at the end of last February. Tehran responded by using drones and missiles to attack targets in the Persian Gulf that it believed were linked to the United States.
In early April, the United States and Iran were able to agree on a temporary truce. In the second half of June, the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding. The two parties are supposed to negotiate within 60 days to reach a final peace agreement.
The Israeli authorities objected to some provisions of the agreement between the United States and Iran, especially the requirement to withdraw Israeli forces from Lebanese territory.